Former Ukrainian interior minister loses appeal in embezzlement case

A high court in Kiev on Wednesday rejected the appeal by former Interior Minister Yury Lutsenko of his conviction in an abuse of office and embezzlement case, upholding his four-year sentence.Presiding Judge Sergei Slinko announced that there were no reasons to annul an earlier court ruling, which means that Lutsenko will remain in custody until late 2014.Lutsenko, who served as a minister in the government of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko from 2007 to 2010, was arrested in December 2010 on charges of misusing budget funds and giving gifts and privileges to his driver.In February 2012, the Kiev Pechersk court ruled that Lutsenko caused a loss of 125,000 U.S. dollars to the state and that he should repay the funds.The European Court of Human Rights ruled in July 2012 that Lutsenko's arrest had been arbitrary and ordered Ukraine to pay 15,000 euros (around 19,200 dollars) in damages to the former minister