Criminal proceedings against ex-Minister of Internal Affairs Lutsenko quashed

A Kyiv court yesterday revoked the decree launching a criminal investigation against the leader of the civic movement “Narodna samooborona” [“People’s Self-Defence”] Yury Lutsenko, finding no elements of a crime.

Mr Lutsenko had appealed against the launching by the Prosecutor General of a criminal case. Last week, as reported here, Yury Lutsenko had been questioned on a number of occasions, his Kyiv flat had been searched, and an attempt was prohibit him leaving Kyiv freely.

His lawyer Yury Martynenko said that the main charges against Lutsenko related to issue award weapons, however he asserted that there had been no violation of the law.