US Ambassador: Lutsenko not presumed innocent

US Ambassador to Ukraine John Tefft said former interior minister Yuriy Lutsenko had its right to the presumption of innocence violated during court proceedings in an interview with the weekly Dzerkalo Tyzhnya. Lutsenko was sentenced in February to four years in jail for abuse of office, was convicted again last week of negligence and given another two year prison term. The European Court for Human Rights ruled on July 3 that Ukraine violated Lutsenko’s rights and ordered the country to pay him EUR 15,000 in damages. American and European politicians have sharply criticized the rulings.

Brad Wells: The continued persecution of Lutsenko and former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko are driving an even bigger wedge between Ukraine and the governments of democratic nations. The Central Election Commission has already ruled that the criminal convictions of both opposition leaders was grounds to not allow them to stand for election in the upcoming parliamentary vote on October 28, despite external pressure to let them to participate. In Ukraine, where personalities and name recognition alone often attracts voters, this has put the opposition at a disadvantage. Opinion polls suggest that the opposition is slightly ahead of pro-presidential forces at this point in time. However, given that under the new election system 50% of seats in the new parliament will be distributed by popular vote in constituencies, we expect pro-presidential parties, whose stronghold is in the most densely populated eastern and southern regions of Ukraine, to come out ahead.