UWC appeals to international community to demand the immediate release of opposition leader Yuriy Lutsenko

July 6, 2012

PRESS RELEASE

UKRAINIAN WORLD CONGRESS APPEALS TO INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

TO DEMAND THE IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF OPPOSITION LEADER YURIY LUTSENKO

 

On July 6, 2012, based on the unanimous judgment rendered on July 3, 2012 by the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Lutsenko v. Ukraine, Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) President Eugene Czolij appealed to international leaders to demand that Ukrainian authorities release opposition leader Yuriy Lutsenko immediately, and lift any prohibition barring him from participating in the October 2012 Parliamentary elections.

 

In that judgment, the Court clearly describes the violations committed by the Ukrainian authorities of their legal obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights, which was ratified by Ukraine in 1997.

 

The Court found that the conduct of the Ukrainian authorities indicated that in Ukraine a person may be punished for invoking his basic rights to a fair trial.

 

A copy of this letter was sent to President Viktor Yanukovych.

 

The UWC is an international coordinating body for Ukrainian communities in the diaspora representing the interests of over 20 million Ukrainians. The UWC has member organizations in 32 countries and ties with Ukrainians in 14 additional countries. Founded in 1967 as a non-profit corporation, the UWC was recognized in 2003 as a non-governmental organization (NGO) by the United Nations Economic and Social Council with special consultative status.