A former Ukrainian interior minister and close ally of jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko was sentenced to four years in jail on Monday for embezzlement and abuse of office. Yuri Lutsenko, 47, a member of opposition party Narodna Samooborona (People's Self-defence), had denied the charges, calling them politically motivated. But he had made it clear in earlier comments to journalists that he expected to be jailed anyway.
"Everybody understands that this is a political trial, not a judicial one," Lutsenko told reporters from a metal cage in the courtroom, as Judge Serhiy Vovk read out the verdict. The European Union and the United States have condemned the trial as well as a case targeting Tymoshenko as politically motivated proceedings and examples of selective justice.
Catherine Ashton, the EU's high representative for foreign affairs, and Stefan Fule, commissioner for enlargement and European neighbourhood policy, issued a joint statement on Monday criticising Lutsenko's trial. "We are disappointed with the verdict against Mr Lutsenko, which signals the continuation of trials in Ukraine which do not respect international standards as regards fair, transparent and independent legal process," they said.
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