Defense lawyer doubts Lutsenko's pardon will be followed by Tymoshenko's release

Former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko's defense lawyer Oleksandr Plakhotniuk doubts that Tymoshenko will be freed after former interior minister Yuriy Lutsenko's pardon.

"I doubt they will do that," Plakhotniuk told Interfax-Ukraine on Sunday.

Tymoshenko's release would have been a more serious argument for Europe, meanwhile, he added.

"Lutsenko's pardon is a certain step Ukraine has made. If Tymoshenko's release is the next step, one could talk about Ukraine's sincere Euro-integration plans," Plakhotniuk said.

Reports said earlier that President Viktor Yanukovych pardoned several prisoners on April 7, among them ex-interior minister Lutsenko and former environmental protection minister Heorhiy Filipchuk.