Ukrainian human rights ombudsman says Yuri Lutsenko must be freed

Ukrainian human rights ombudsman Nina Karpachova said on 4 May that she can see no reason to continue the detention of former interior minister Yuri Lutsenko and added that she is planning to intervene by raising this issue with Ukraine’s prosecutor-general. In her opinion, the lawyers representing the former minister will easily refute any reasons used by the court to issue Lutsenko’s arrest warrant. Karpachova also told the journalists about her visit to see Lutsenko in prison. She rejected suggestions, put forward by members of his party, that Lutsenko – who for several days now has been carrying out a hunger strike – is being force fed. The information about force-feeding was denied the same day also by the prosecutor’s office. (Lutsenko was arrested on 26 December of last year. He is being accused of abuse of power during his time as head of the Interior Ministry. On 21 April Lutsenko announced that he was going on hunger strike, immediately after the court ruled to remand him in custody for another month).
2011.05.04, www.unian.net, www.pravda.com.ua