Yuriy Lutsenko Юрій Луценко |
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Lutsenko in May 2007 | |
Minister of Internal Affairs | |
In office 18 December 2007 – 11 March 2010 |
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Preceded by | Vasyliy Tsushko |
Succeeded by | Anatolii Mohyliov |
In office 4 February 2005 – 1 December 2006 |
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Preceded by | Mykola Bilokon |
Succeeded by | Vasyliy Tsushko |
Personal details | |
Born | Yuriy Vitaliyovych Lutsenko 14 December 1964 Rivne, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union |
Political party | People's Self-Defense Political Party[1][2] (before 2006 – Socialist Party of Ukraine) |
Spouse(s) | Irina Stepanivna (1966) |
Children | Oleksandr (1989), Vitaliy (1999) |
Residence | Kiev, Ukraine |
Yuriy Vitaliyovych Lutsenko (Ukrainian: Юрій Віталійович Луценко; born 14 December 1964 in Rivne) is a Ukrainian politician and statesman and former Minister of Internal Affairs, he occupied this post in the two Cabinets of Yulia Tymoshenko and in Cabinets of Yuriy Yekhanurov, and Viktor Yanukovych. The Ministry of Internal Affairs is the Ukrainian police authority, and Lutsenko became the first civilian minister in February, 2005.[3]
On 13 December 2010 Lutsenko was charged with abuse of office and forgery by Prosecutor General of Ukraine Viktor Pshonka.[4] On 27 February 2012 Lutsenko was sentenced to fours year in jail for embezzlement and abuse of office.[5] Lutsenko stated the same day he will appeal against sentence.[6] Lutsenko is held at the Lukyanivska Prison since 26 December 2010.[7]. Both Lutsenko and his political allies regard his trail as an act of political persecution and revenge by the regime of Victor Yanukovych.[8][9][10] The European Union, the United States Department of State, Canada, other international organizations and human rights organizations protested against the sentence and questioned if it was a "fair, transparent and independent legal process".[11][12][13][14][15][16]
Contents |
Early life
Yuriy's father is Vitaliy Ivanovych Lutsenko (15 March 1937 – 4 June 1999) – elected as people deputy of Ukraine in 1994 and 1998, secretary of Central Committee of Communist Party of Ukraine,[17] mother is Vira Mikhailivna (1936) – veterinary doctor.
Yuriy Lutsenko received his degree in Engineering in 1989 from Lviv Polytechnical Institute.
Political biography
Yuriy Lutsenko gained public fame as one of the leaders of the Ukraine without Kuchma! campaign, which followed the Cassette Scandal of 2000.[18] He was also one of the "faces of Orange revolution". Lutsenko was a long-term member (since 1991) of the Socialist Party of Ukraine (SPU), prior to his appointment to the executive branch he was people’s deputy in the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) since February 2002. Lutsenko belonged to so-called "right wing" of SPU which takes a pro-European position akin to social democratic parties in the rest of Europe, rather than a post-Soviet conservative socialism.
As a Minister, Lutsenko refused to run in the 2006 parliamentary election on his party list. However, he has been running for both the Kiev City Council and Rivne Oblast Council simultaneously in the lists of Socialist Party – "to make the point", as he explained. Having won these seats, Lutsenko resigned from both in favor of his Minister's position as the Constitution of Ukraine prohibits occupying the positions in the legislative and executive branches of the government at the same time.
Resignation from the Socialist Party
After his appointment as a minister he suspended the membership of the SPU in the summer of 2006 as a result of the party leader Oleksandr Moroz's entering into a Parliamentary coalition with the Communist Party of Ukraine and the Party of Regions of the previous PM Yanukovych. When the Parliamentary coalition of the Party of Regions, the Communists and the defected Socialists began to take shape, Lutsenko stated flatly that he refused to continue serving as the minister in a future government formed by these parties. However, after President Viktor Yushchenko agreed to allow the forming of the cabinet in exchange for several political concessions including the ability to pick the Minister of Interior, Lutsenko stated that the president asked him personally to remain as the minister, and he would do so.
Lutsenko was formally dismissed by the Verkhovna Rada on 1 December 2006.[19] Lutsenko then (December 2006) created Civil Movement "People's Self-Defense".[20]
18 December 2007 Lutsenko again became minister of Internal Affairs, when Yulia Tymoshenko was again elected Prime Minister of Ukraine.
Incident at Frankfurt Airport
Early May 2009 Lutsenko became entangled in a scandal concerning his behaviour during a visit to Germany. According to German newspaper Bild Lutsenko was detained at Frankfurt Airport by the German police in a state of acute alcohol intoxication. The Ukrainian Interior Ministry dismissed these allegations, according to the information of the Ministry, on 4 May 2009 the Interior Ministry's delegation was detained at the Frankfurt airport during document checks and missed the flight, with the plane crew refused to take them on board. The delegation decided to catch the next flight. "There were no handcuffs, no drunken conflict" the department said. On 12 May 2009 Yuri Lutsenko sent in his resignation from the post of Interior Minister. In his letter of resignation the Minister described the incident that happened in Frankfurt, and stressed that the German police had officially apologized to the Ukrainian delegation for this incident but that despite this German mass media disseminated false publications, which were later re-published by Ukrainian media but that none of these publications mentioned the apologizes of the German police. Lutsenko was confident that a dirty campaign was waged against him in Ukraine. The aim of the campaign, according to him, is to destabilize the work of the Interior Ministry.[21]
The Ukrainian Parliament has to agree with the resignation of a Minister before the Minister can leave her/his post. On 15 May 2009 it passed a resolution, stipulating to address the government with a request to suspend Yuri Lutsenko from post of the Interior Minister of Ukraine until the “drunken incident” is investigated.[22]
From 12 May 2009 till 14 May 2009 and again on 15 May 2009 faction members of the oppositional Party of Regions blocked the Ukrainian parliament’s rostrum and presidium demanding the resignation of Lutsenko they placed (in the session hall) posters with inscriptions: “A Drunkard Minister is a shame for Ukraine”, “Drunk policeman is a criminal” and “Drunk Minister –a politician?”.[23][24][25][26][27]
Later that 12 May 2009 Lutsenko claimed he will sue Bild. According to Lutsenko, the publication does not contain “any true things, any references to documents or real officials”.[28]
President Viktor Yushchenko considered his appeal for resignation “a logical step, which should be made ... There was an incident which damaged the reputation of the state, the government and the minister himself. It must be settled with due regard for the interests of the nation and the country”.[24] Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko believes that the information about the incident is doubtful. "I may state that the son of the Interior Minister is a child ill with cancer; he underwent a very serious operation. This child is taking special medicines that are incompatible with alcohol drinking. Besides, no tests were made. I’m confident that this child had nothing in common at all with alcohol. And this untruth, which was publicized many times, casts doubt upon the whole information”.[29] The Party of Regions faction insists on accepting the resignation of Lutsenko without getting any proofs of the incident at Frankfurt airport. The Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc faction will not support the resignation of the Interior Minister without any proofs of the incident. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has asked Germany for official information about the incident, but got no response.[30]
On 15 May 2009 the Ukrainian parliament passed a resolution asking the government to hold a-seven-day official investigation into the events at Frankfurt Airport (first deputy [interior] minister Mykhailo Kliuyev served as acting Minister that period).[31][32] After that Lutsenko resumed at his post.[33]
On 10 June 2011 retracted the report about the events at Frankfurt Airport after being ordered so by the Landgericht Berlin.[34]
Loss of Ministry and charged with abuse of office and forgery and imprisonment
Lutsenko was dismissed by the Ukrainian parliament on 28 January 2010.[35][36] The same day he was appointed by the Cabinet as first deputy Interior minister and acting Interior Minister.[35] The Kiev District Administrative Court suspended the government's decision until the end of an investigation into his appointment, but the Cabinet claimed it had not received any court ruling on the matter.[37] After the fall of the second Tymoshenko Government Lutsenko eventually lost his post as Minister of Internal Affairs on 11 March 2010.[38]
In 2010 Lutsenko became the leader of the party People's Self-Defense Political Party.[39][40]
On 13 December 2010 Lutsenko was charged with abuse of office and forgery by Prosecutor General of Ukraine Viktor Pshonka.[4] On 5 November it was already announcement that Lutsenko faced criminal charges for an alleged financial crime involving a less than $5,000 overpayment to his driver.[41] According to Lutsenko the criminal case against him is political persecution.[42] Pshonka has denied this.[43] Lutsenko was also charged with having signed an order whilst on holiday and not having cancelled the traditional "National Militia Day" despite a general instruction from the then Prime Minister to make budgetary savings where possible.[11] Lutsenko has been jailed since 26 December 2010 in Kiev's Lukyanivka Prison.[7][8] Lutsenko was arrested near his home on 26 December; on 27 December a court ordered his arrest on the grounds that he had been dodging questioning in violation of his written pledge not to leave Kiev.[44][45] Three criminal cases opened against him where merged into one on 27 January 2011.[44] Lutsenko went on a hunger strike from 22 April till 24 May 2011 in protest against his "preventive punishment".[46][47]
Lutsenko filed a complaint in a U.S. court on 14 December 2011 against his (Ukrainian) prosecutors, made possible by the Alien Tort Statute, for "illegal arrest and arbitrarily prolonged detention".[48]
On 27 February 2012, after a pre-trial detention of 14 months[49], Lutsenko was sentenced to fours year in jail for embezzlement and abuse of office.[5][50] The total damages caused by Lutsenko to Ukraine’s budget had been estimated at $125,000.[50] Lutsenko immediately after his sentence stated he will appeal against sentence.[6] The European Commission stated the day of his sentence "signals the continuation of trials in Ukraine which do not respect international standards as regards fair, transparent and independent legal process"[12]; spokesperson for the United States Department of State Victoria Nuland stated the cases raised "serious concerns about the government of Ukraine's commitment to democracy and the rule of law"[13]; other Council of Europe member have criticised the sentence in similar wording.[14][51][52] In a statement issued by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) right after the verdict of 27 February 2012 Lutsenko was named "the victim of a political vendetta"[11]; the next day the President of Pace Jean-Claude Mignon called for his release.[16] Human rights organizations have urged the high courts in Ukraine to overturn the verdict against Lutsenko.[15]
References
- ^ Lutsenko pledges allegiance to Yuia Tymoshenko, Z I K (24 August 2010)
- ^ (Ukrainian) Хто ми, People’s Self-Defense party
- ^ "On appointment of Yuriy Lutsenko as Minister of Internal Affairs" (in Ukrainian). Order of President N 150/2005. 4 February 2005. http://zakon1.rada.gov.ua/cgi-bin/laws/main.cgi?nreg=150%2F2005.
- ^ a b Ukraine prosecutors charge ally of opposition leader Tymoshenko, Kyiv Post (13 December 2010)
- ^ a b Ukraine's Lutsenko jailed for 4 years (updated), Kyiv Post (27 February 2012)
- ^ a b Lutsenko pledges to prove his innocence, Kyiv Post (27 February 2012)
- ^ a b Appeal court upholds extension of Lutsenko's arrest, Kyiv Post (25 February 2011)
- ^ a b Lutsenko:Tymoshenko ties get you arrested, Kyiv Post (25 February 2010)
- ^ Yulia Tymoshenko:we demand the immediate release of all political prisoners, Official website of Yulia Tymoshenko (16 February 2011)
- ^ People's Self-Defense launches petition for Lutsenko's release, Kyiv Post (17 January 2011)
- ^ a b c PACE rapporteur says Lutsenko is 'victim of a political vendetta', Kyiv Post (27 February 2012)
- ^ a b EU statement:‘We are disappointed’ with Lutsenko verdict, Kyiv Post (27 February 2012)
- ^ a b Lutsenko found guilty of embezzlement, Kyiv Post (28 February 2012)
- ^ a b Canada ‘troubled’ by Lutsenko conviction, Kyiv Post (28 February 2012)
- ^ a b Human rights organizations urging Ukraine's senior courts to overturn Lutsenko verdict, Kyiv Post (28 February 2012)
- ^ a b PACE President calls for the release of Yuriy Lutsenko, Kyiv Post (28 February 2012)
- ^ "Lutsenko Vitaliy Ivanovich biography" (in Russian). Hokkaido University. http://src-h.slav.hokudai.ac.jp/ukrregions/data/99.html.
- ^ Ukrainians renew tent protest, CNN (5 March 2001)
- ^ "On dismissal of Yuriy Lutsenko from position of Minister of Internal Affairs" (in Ukrainian). 1 December 2006. http://zakon1.rada.gov.ua/cgi-bin/laws/main.cgi?nreg=411-16.
- ^ Yuriy Lutsenko's initiative to create civil movement "People's self-defense" supported by political party "Ukraine, onward!", Radio Ukraine (25 December 2006)
- ^ Lutsenko sent in his resignation from post of Interior Minister, UNIAN (12 May 2009)
- ^ Verkhovna Rada asks government to suspend Lutsenko from post, UNIAN (15 May 2009)
- ^ Party of Regions MPs blocked parliament’s rostrum and presidium, UNIAN (12 May 2009)
- ^ a b Party of Regions blocks session, UNIAN (13 May 2009)
- ^ Regions Party unblocks parliament, break until Friday announced, Interfax-Ukraine (14 May 2009)
- ^ Party of Regions again blocks parliament’s rostrum and presidium, UNIAN (15 May 2009)
- ^ Lutsenko about Yanukovych: he was a convict, and he will die as convict, UNIAN (15 May 2009)
- ^ Lutsenko to sue Bild, which published story about drunken incident, UNIAN (12 May 2009)
- ^ Tymoshenko about Lutsenko: show from scratch, UNIAN (14 May 2009)
- ^ Factions to continue talks to unblock Verkhovna Rada's work, UNIAN (13 May 2009)
- ^ Speaker:Lutsenko suspended as Ukraine's interior minister, Kyiv Post (18 May 2009)
- ^ Kliuyev to serve as Ukraine's interior minister during Lutsenko's suspension from duty, Kyiv Post (16 May 2009)
- ^ Lutsenko says he will resume fulfilling duties as interior minister, Kyiv Post (27 May 2009)
- ^ German newspaper Bild retracts report on drunken incident with Lutsenko's son at Frankfurt airpor, Kyiv Post (10 June 2009)
- ^ a b Lutsenko says he's calm about his dismissal, Kyiv Post (28 January 2010)
- ^ Update: Ukraine's parliament dismisses interior minister, Kyiv Post (28 January 2010)
- ^ Regions Party: Kliuyev is legitimate head of Interior Ministry, Kyiv Post (1 February 2010)
- ^ Ex-chief of Crimean police heads Ukrainian Interior Ministry, Kyiv Post (11 March 2010)
- ^ Lawyer: Lutsenko detained as part of a new 'case on abuse of office', Kyiv Post (27 December 2010)
- ^ Interior minister planning to set up full-fledged political force, Interfax-Ukraine (29-01-2009)
- ^ President taps Pshonka, a loyalist with questionable record, as top prosecutor, Kyiv Post (12 November 2010)
- ^ Update: Lutsenko planning to challenge criminal case against him in court, Kyiv Post (9 November 2010)
- ^ Prosecutor general says there were no politics in questioning Tymoshenko and Turchynov, Kyiv Post (10 December 2010)
- ^ a b All cases against former minister Lutsenko merged, Kyiv Post (27 January 2010)
- ^ Ukrainian court sanctions arrest of ex-interior minister Lutsenko, RIA Novosti (27 January 2011)
- ^ Investigator allows medical examination of Lutsenko in hospital, Kyiv Post (10 May 2011)
- ^ Lutsenko stated about termination of hunger strike, UNIAN (24 May 2011)
- ^ Lutsenko sues Ukrainian prosecutors in a US court, Kyiv Post (30 January 2012)
- ^ Lutsenko verdict expected on Feb. 27, Kyiv Post (24 February 2012)
- ^ a b Ukrainian Ex-minister Jailed for Abuse of Office, RIA Novosti (27 February 2012)
- ^ Paris sees violations in investigation of Lutsenko case, Kyiv Post (29 February 2012)
- ^ Czech Republic worried about Lutsenko verdict, Kyiv Post (29 February 2012)
External links
- (Ukrainian) Lutsenko: There Are Several Criminal Cases on Companies Linked to Akhmetov... (June 2005 interview)
- People's Self-Defense Official website of Lutsenko's party
Political offices | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by Vasyl Tsushko |
Minister of Internal Affairs 2007–2010 |
Succeeded by Anatolii Mohyliov |
Preceded by Mykola Bilokon |
Minister of Internal Affairs 2005–2006 |
Succeeded by Vasyl Tsushko |
Party political offices | ||
Preceded by Post created |
Leader of Civil Movement "People's Self-Defense" 2006–present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |