KIEV, April 1 - RAPSI. Ukraine's Higher Special Court for Civil and Criminal Cases will consider former Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko's appeal against his second conviction on April 4, his attorney Oleksiy Bahanets told RIA Novosti on Monday.

The Pechersky District Court sentenced Lutsenko to two years in prison in Kiev in August 2012 after finding him guilty of neglecting his duties while investigating former President Viktor Yushchenko's poisoning in 2004 as he ran for president.

On April 2, the court will consider Lutsenko's appeal against his first conviction in an abuse of power case.

Lutsenko, who is serving a four year sentence under the first case, has pleaded innocent and claims that he is being persecuted upon President Viktor Yanukovych's orders.

The Yanukovych administration has denied the allegations.

In February 2012, a Ukrainian court sentenced Lutsenko to four years in prison on charges of embezzling state funds and abuse of power. The appeals court upheld the sentence in the first case against Lutsenko.

In July, the European court found that Lutsenko's arrest was a violation of his rights and obligated Kiev to pay him 15,000 euros in compensation. In October, Ukraine submitted an application to the court to transfer Lutsenko's case for consideration to the Grand Chamber. However, the latter refused to consider the application. Thus, the European court's ruling in Lutsenko's case came into effect on Nov. 19.

On Nov. 20, the Kiev Appeals Court confirmed the second sentence, pursuant to which Lutsenko received two years in prison. He was sentenced for organizing the surveillance of former Ukrainian Security Service First Deputy Chief Vladimir Satsyuk's driver during the probe into Yushchenko's poisoning.