the independence of the legal process that had led to it. He served his time in a prison in the city of Mena. During his imprisonment Lutsenko was moved several times to hospital to receive medical treatment. Lutsenko lost his appeal on 3 April 2013; this High Court ruling could be challenged in any other Ukrainian court. The judges of the Higher Specialized Court on Civil and Criminal Cases will on 10 April 2013 announce a ruling on the appeal against the second conviction of Lutsenko regarding the poisoning of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko; this will not influence the term of Lutsenko's imprisonment. Pardoning After already having suggested it earlier, President Viktor Yanukovych on 5 April 2013 proposed the presidential commission on pardons urgently to consider the request by Verkhovna Rada Human Rights Commissioner Valeriya Lutkovska to pardon Lutsenko. The requests to pardon Lutsenko was made by Ukrainian parliamentary Lutkovska, former President of the European Parliament Pat Cox and former Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski. Lutkovska asked to pardon Lutsenko "due to the European standards of human rights, which include providing effective medical care to persons detained in prisons". On 7 April 2013, a decree by Yanukovych pardoned Lutsenko (among others) for health reasons and "to decriminalize and humanize Ukrainian legislation" and the same day he was released from prison. The decree also exempted from further punishment Lutsenko's fellow Minister in the second Tymoshenko Government Heorhiy Filipchuk. Lutsenko stated the day after his release he will "continue to remain in politics". Lutsenko and his family had repeatedly stated that they would not seek a pardon, because they believe the charges where groundless and political punishment. Nevertheless, Lutsenko's wife Iryna Lutsenko welcomed the request. On 8 April 2013, the European Union welcomed the pardons of Lutsenko and Filipchuk, and urged Ukraine to continue addressing "the cases of selective justice". Political career after April 2013 pardoning In the spring of 2013, Lutsenko established the non-parliamentary movement "Third Republic". At the time he was not member of a political party because he is "on a path to the same goal pursued by "Fatherland" from the bottom up and from the people, by organizing a connection between opposition parties and the populace". In November 2013, Lutsenko became one of the organizers of Euromaidan. Lutsenko was hospitalised on 11 January 2014 in an intensive care ward after being beaten by police in protests following the