08/28/2003 | peter byrne

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“The agreement stipulates that food and other necessary supplies
will be delivered once a day by Lazarenko's son, Oleksandr, his assistant, Oksana Tsukova or by his attorneys. No alcohol, drugs or weapons are permitted inside the residence.”

Aug. 28, 2003

The terms of former Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko's release from pre-trial detention in the United States may be more restrictive than many believed if a copy of the release papers obtained by the Kyiv Post is any indication.
The Post was anonymously faxed a copy of an 8-page legal document purporting to be the order for Lazarenko's conditional release on Aug. 22. The newspaper has been unable to verify the authenticity of the document, which carried the signatures of Lazarenko and U.S. District Court Judge Martin Jenkins and which bears a court clerk's filing stamp bearing a June 11 date.
The document was faxed from a Kinko's Copies shop in San Francisco on Aug. 22.
The order requires the former prime minister to reside in a one or two bedroom apartment in San Francisco, and required that the address be supplied to the court and the government.
"The apartment will have a telephone line for Lazarenko to use during depositions and for calls to phone numbers currently approved at the Dublin Federal Correctional Institution in California," the agreement reads.
It also forbids Lazarenko from leaving the residence except for appearances in court, or to receive medical assistance.
"Lazarenko will be subject to electronic monitoring facilitated through U.S. prison authorities, who will visit the residence on occasion," the document says. "For purposes of electronic monitoring, a second, dedicated phone line will be installed that will not be used for any other purpose."
According to the agreement, a private security company approved by the court will provide, at Lazarenko's expense, 24-hour security service consisting of three eight-hour shifts. Each shift will include a single, unarmed guard who will have access to radio communications. The duties of the security guard will include observing anyone entering or exiting the residence.
It also recommends that authorities install a pen register, which is used to track incoming and outgoing telephone calls.
The order is appended by a list of 21 persons authorized to visit the former prime minister in his apartment. Of those, 18 are attorneys and legal staff. The name of Lazarenko's wife, Tamara, is not included on either the list of persons authorized to visit or telephone.
Lazarenko is allowed to have social visits from his two daughters and son. Each is permitted an hour-long meeting each Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The agreement stipulates that food and other necessary supplies will be delivered once a day by Lazarenko's son, Oleksandr, his assistant, Oksana Tsukova or by his attorneys. No alcohol, drugs or weapons are permitted inside the residence.
The Post repeatedly attempted to contact Lazarenko's attorneys in Ukraine and the United States in an attempt to authenticate the document. Calls were not returned by the time the Post went to press on Aug. 27. Lazarenko's Ukrainian lawyer, Marina Dolgopola, who is on vacation, said she would comment after she returned to Kyiv on Sept. 1.
The U.S. government has indicted Lazarenko on 53 counts of conspiracy, money laundering, wire fraud and transportation of stolen property. If convicted of the charges, the Dnipropetrovsk native could be sentenced to several lifetimes in prison.
Lazarenko's jury trial had been scheduled to start last March, but was later rescheduled to August and delayed again until October. According to the current schedule, jury members will be empanelled by mid-September. Around the same time, prosecution and defense lawyers are expected to disclose the names of the witnesses they intend to call during the trial.
Lazarenko served as prime minister from May 1996 until June 1997, when Kuchma accepted his resignation "due to illness," the nature of which was not specified.