The Council of Europe (CoE) believes that the pardon of former Ukrainian interior minister Yuri Lutsenko could be a breakthrough in the case of ex-prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko. The organisation welcomed the Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych’s pardon of Lutsenko.
The top ally of imprisoned former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko walked free from jail Sunday, after Ukraine’s president signed a decree pardoning him and another former governmental official - ex-environment minister, Heorhiy Filipchuk, imprisoned for abuse of office.
Lutsenko, 48, was serving a four-year sentence on charges of abuse of office and embezzlement. His health, however, has deteriorated since his arrest in 2010. Lutsenko’s release came after the country's human rights official petitioned for him and the presidential commission on pardons recommended that Yanukovych pardon the former interior minister.
EU's enlargement commissioner, Stefan Füle, tweeted that the pardons for Lutsenko and Filipchuk were a "first but important step."
According to the CoE’s Secretary General, Thorbjørn Jagland, the decision for pardon was in the “spirit of the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights.” In addition, he expressed hope that the Ukrainian authorities will act in a similar fashion towards jailed former premier Yulia Tymoshenko.
