MOSCOW, March 5 - RAPSI. The European Court of Human Rights accepted former Ukrainian Interior Minister Yuri Lutsenko's complaint about his treatment conditions at a pretrial detention center.

Lutsenko was arrested in late 2010.

Earlier, the Prosecutor General's Office charged him with state property embezzlement and abuse of power. A Kiev district court found him guilty and sentenced to four years in prison on February 27.

The European court said Lutsenko complained about his treatment at a pretrial detention center and the lack of adequate medical aid there despite his poor health. His attorneys seek to declare the Ukrainian authorities' actions a violation of Lutsenko's right for life. They also claim that Ukraine breached the ban on torture secured by the Convention of Human Rights.

Lutsenko's defense said in January that it planned to file a complaint with the Strasbourg court on violations of his right to a fair trial.

Lutsenko was accused of employing his personal driver at the ministry and providing him with an apartment and a pension. He is also blamed for overspending on Police Day celebrations. Investigators estimate the damages inflicted by Lutsenko on the state at 1 million gryvnias ($125,000) when he served as minister.

The defense said the case is politically driven and claimed to acquit Lutsenko on all counts. After the court found him guilty, the defense stated that it will challenge the judgment.