ECHR's ruling on Lutsenko case won't influence Kyiv Appeals Court's verdict, says lawyer
The ruling of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on the unlawful arrest and detention of former Ukrainian Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko will not influence the verdict of Kyiv Court of Appeals, which is considering an appeal against the ruling of Kyiv's Pechersky District Court on the criminal case on the investigation into the poisoning of Third Ukrainian President (2005-2010) Viktor Yuschenko, the ex-minister's lawyer Ihor Fomin has said.
"Personally I think that the ruling of the European Court won't influence the consideration of the appeal, as today they are deciding whether the verdict of Pechersky District Court was reasonable," Fomin told journalists on Wednesday.
"The ECHR's ruling will definitely influence the decision that will be made by a cassation court (the date of the hearing has not been scheduled yet), as it confirmed that Lutsenko's rights were violated in the process of the preliminary investigation and consideration of the case in which he was sentenced [to four years in prison]," the lawyer said.
As reported, on July 3, 2012, the ECHR issued a ruling declaring that the arrest of Lutsenko was a violation of his human rights. Moreover, the court ordered the Ukrainian government to pay EUR 15,000 to the ex-minister as compensation for moral damages.
On October 1, 2012, the government filed a motion to review the ECHR decision in the Lutsenko versus Ukraine case. The Ukrainian government referred to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms dated November 4, 1950 in the motion.
Lutsenko was arrested on December 26, 2010. He was held at Kyiv's pre-trial detention center. The ex-minister's defense team appealed against Lutsenko's arrest to the ECHR.
Kyiv's Pechersky District Court found Lutsenko guilty of a number of counts of abuse of office and sentenced him to four years in prison on February 27, 2012. On August 31, 2012, he was taken to the penitentiary in Chernihiv region.
Lutsenko was also charged with the extension of an investigative case concerning Valentyn Davydenko, the driver of former SBU First Deputy Chief Volodymyr Satsiuk, as part of an investigation into the poisoning of then presidential candidate Viktor Yuschenko on August 17, 2012 by Pechersky Court. The court sentenced Lutsenko to two years in prison.
