MEP Marek Siwiec willing to stand guarantor to secure Yury Lutsenko’s release
Polish Member of the European Parliament, Marek Siwiec has written a letter to the court expressing concern over the continued detention of former Minister of Internal Affairs in Yulia Tymoshenko’s government, and leader of the People’s Self-Defence Party, Yury Lutsenko.
The letter (in Polish) reads:
“I the undersigned Marek Siwiec am asking the Supreme Court of Ukraine to reconsider the decision to remand Yury Lutsenko in custody.
I am convinced that remand in custody is an exceptional measure of restraint which must be used against a suspect only in the case of a real threat. It would seem that a milder measure could be chosen with respect to Yury Lutsenko, whose state of health leaves a great deal to be desired
The European Court of Human Rights in a number of judgements on this issue (Yagci and Sahin v. Turkey, 1995, Schesser v. Switzerland, 1979, Ireland v. UK, 1978 has stated unequivocally that long-term remand in custody is an infringement of the suspect’s rights”
I would assure the Court that it is not my intention to interfere in matters of Ukraine’s jurisdiction, merely to express my concern at Yury Lutsenko’s situation and to personally stand guarantor should the Court allow my application for another restraint measure to be used against the suspect. “
The letter is dated 22 June 2011 from Brussels.