Ukraine President pardons two Tymoshenko allies

Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovych has unexpectedly pardoned two close allies of jailed former premier Yulia Tymoshenko amid opposition protests and and tensions with the European Union.
Listen to the report by regional correspondent Stefan Bos...
The release of the former ministers also came at a time when Kiev tries to secure 15 billion dollar financial assistance from the the International Monetary Fund and a free trade agreement with the European Union.
Former Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko was among the first to walk out of his prison in the Chernihiv region, some 150 kilometers (100 miles) north of the capital Kiev, into the arms of his crying wife, son and supporters.
Besides Lutsenko, 5 others were pardoned by the president, including former Minister of Environmental Protection Georgy Filipchuk.
The European Union's enlargement commissioner, Stefan Fuele, said the pardons for Lutsenko and Filipchuk were a “first but important step.”
The two men were were accused of abuse of office and embezzlement, charges they said were politically motivated. Both men support former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who is serving a seven-year-jail term on abuse of power charges.
Commentators have called Lutsenko, who was detained since December 2010, the country's biggest optimist who never gives up hope.
The 48-year-old, whose health deteriorated in prison, told reporters he doesn't want to spend even one day on seeking revenge against those who prosecuted him.
Before his release, he also denied wrongdoing. He explained that it has been two years since he could be with his family or "walk the dog" and added that the crimes were "really committed by those who prosecuted" him on what he views as trumped u charges. "They arrested me without any reason. It was a political trial," the politician added.
Lutsenko said he doesn't want to run for president, but wants to support the candidacy of Tymoshenko. However President Yanukovich says he cannot pardon Tymoshenko until her legal options are exhausted. She is appealing her conviction before the European Court for Human Rights.
The president claims he does not want to interfere into other cases against Tymoshenko, including her alleged involvement in the killing of a businessman in 1996 and a corruption investigation.
Yet, pressure is mounting on the president.On Sunday about 4,000 opposition supporters rallied against the government in central Kiev.
Lutsenko told the crowd by telephone that he still believes that "democracy and freedom would prevail" in Ukraine, a crisis-hit former Soviet nation.