We, representatives of civil society in Ukraine, are bound to acknowledge that the state of freedom of speech, freedom of peaceful assembly, security of public activists and politically active citizens are ceaselessly deteriorating. Ukraine is plunged into the days of persecution of public activists and inaction of the state, which was a calling card of regimes of Kuchma and Yanukovych.
In recent months, there was a wave of targeted attacks on activists across Ukraine. We observe total disregard of them by law enforcement agencies, which start to act only under pressure from the public. At least 55 attacks on activists were committed from the beginning of 2017 and more than 40 attacks in the last 12 months.
Here are just a few of them:
- On March 5, in Znamianka, Oleh Ruban, a deputy of Power of People in Znamianka City Council, was attacked and beaten up. The instigator and executors of the attack have not been found;
- On March 16, Serhii Mokriakov, deputy head of the central control and auditing committee of Power of People and public activist was brutally beaten up in Kryvyi Rih. The instigator and executors of the attack have not been found;
- On May 24, two unidentified people in Odesa attacked a public activist Serhii Sternenko. He was also attacked earlier, on February 7 and May 1. The instigator of attacks have not been found;
- On June 5, unidentified people in Odesa attacked a local leader of the AutoMaidan movement Vitaliy Ustymenko, and he was stabbed. The instigator and executors of the attack have not been found;
- On June 5, in Eskhar village, Kharkiv region, Mykola Bychok, local activist, was found hanged in the forest. The instigator and executor of the murder have not been found;
- On June 18, two unidentified people in Kherson attacked a journalist and activist Serhii Nikitenko. The instigator and executors of the attack have not been found;
- On July 31, in Kherson a group of people poured acid on a city mayor counselor and public activist Kateryna Gandziuk. The victim was sent to intensive care unit with severe burns. Suspects were not arrested at first, a man with alibi was detained as the suspect initially, but later, under public pressure, the suspect was released and real executors were found. However, the instigator has not been found yet;
- On July 31, Vitaliy Oleshko, public activist and veteran of the Anti-Terrorist Operation, who was known as Sarmat, was killed in Berdiansk. Four suspects in this murder have been detained. The instigator has not been found;
- On August 2, in Odesa an unidentified truck crushed the car with the activist Hryhoriy Kozma and head of Odesa city organization People’s Movement of Ukraine Mykhailo Kuzakon. The instigator has not been found;
- On August 2, there was an explosion of a minibus in Kamianske. As a result, a local deputy Vitaliy Cherniavskyi was injured. He is known for his volunteer activity in the United Forces Operation zone. He was hospitalized in a critical condition. The instigator and executors of the attack have not been found;
- On September 22, Oleh Mykhaylyk, the head of Odesa branch of the Power of the People party, was attacked and shot. He was hospitalized in a critical condition;
- On September 22, after series of threats, Serhii Lukin, the head of Zaporizhzhia organization DemAlliance was attacked in Kushugumi near Zaporizhzhia.
People do not receive comprehensive information about the results of investigations and do not have guarantees of their own security. While the military in the East continue to defend the territorial integrity and hold the front, the fight goes on far behind the lines. Every day life becomes increasingly dangerous for those who have their own principles and beliefs, have courage to call a spade a spade, protect interests of local communities, fight against corruption schemes, and prevent shady political deals.
Ukraine, represented by the law enforcement agencies, has enough resources and possibilities to investigate crimes promptly, thoroughly and objectively and inform people about the results; but it only simulates hectic activity that helps perpetrators to avoid punishment and increases violence every day.
Moreover, the guarantor of human and citizen rights and freedoms – the President of Ukraine – still has not reacted to these cases of significant threat to the security of citizens.
This cannot continue in the country which has gone through the Revolution of Dignity.
Therefore, we, friends and attorneys of activists whose attackers still have not been punished, will start a peaceful action of solidarity Night on Bankova on September 27 at 6.00 p.m.
We demand:
- Clear public stance of the supreme leadership of the state who have to hold an extraordinary meeting of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine due to the increase of intensity of attacks inside the country
- Prompt and effective investigation of criminal proceedings against attacks on activists with reporting about each stage to the public
- Meeting of the Prosecutor General, the head of the Security Service of Ukraine, the Minister of Internal Affairs, the President of Ukraine with regional representatives of public sector to establish communication, disclose positions and problems due to the aggravation of the situation and impact of the Presidential elections on it
- Creating a temporary investigative commission in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine regarding attacks on public activists in 2017-2018 with mandatory representation of civil society in its work on parity principles
- Urgent and public report of the Minister of Internal Affairs to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on the current state of these cases investigation. It has to be entered on the agenda of the plenary session as soon as possible
In case of neglecting of our requirements, we reserve the right to protect our own security by all means which are available to us. Ukrainians could suffer for a long time, but they make conclusions resolutely in case of inaction of the authorities.
Non-governmental organizations:
NGO All-Ukrainian Union AutoMaidan
NGO All-Ukrainian Volunteer Center “People’s Project”
NGO Veteran Brotherhood
NGO Veterans’ Movement of Ukraine
NGO Agency for Legislative Initiatives
Ukrainian School of Political Studies
NGO StateWatch
NGO Media Initiative for Human Rights
NGO Youth Nationalist Congress (YNC)
NGO Narodnyi Tyl
NGO Natsionalni Druzhyny
NGO National Center for Human Rights
NGO Nebaiduzhi
NGO С14
NGO Union of Veterans of War with Russia
NGO Tradition and Order
NGO Transparency International Ukraine
NGO Foundation for Regional Initiatives (FRI)
NGO Center UA
Civil Movement “Chesno”
NGO Chornomorsk Human Rights Group
NGO Anti-Corruption Action Center
NGO Khvylya
Charitable Foundation Vostok-SOS
NGO CrimeaSOS
NGO Center for Civil Liberties
NGO Union of Military Volunteers
Bihus.Info:
- NGO ТОМ 14
- NGO Kantseliarska Sotnia
NGO “RUKH VYZVOLENNIA”
NGO Slidstvo.Info
Initiative EuroMaidan Civic Sector
NGO Ukrainian Military Center
NGO Red Hub
NGO Kryvyi Rih Investigation Center
NGO Anti-Corruption Headquarters
Public Movement “Sylni Hromady”
Art Association “The Last Barricade”
NGO VGO OPIR.ORG
Initiative # Declaration of concerned
NGO Kharkiv Anti-Corruption Action Center
Invisible Battalion
Support Center Airintelligence
NGO Crimea Human Rights Group
Coalition of NGOs “No – to the Police State!”:
- NGO Youth Human Rights Group – Kharkiv
- NGO Human Rights Initiative
- NGO Ternopil Human Rights Group
- Kharkiv Regional Foundation Public Alternative
- NGO Civil Society Development Agency
Ukrainian Helsinki Union on Human Rights (UHUHR)
Ukrainian Political Studies School
DEJURE Foundation
NGO “School of Media Patriots”
Human Rights Information Center
Individual signers:
Andrii Vyshnevskyi, lawyer, ex-Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine
Zoia Kazanzhy, civil activist
Maksym Kytsiuk, civil activist
Maryna Khromykh, civil activist
Olha Aivazovska, civil activist
Dmytro Gnap, civil activist
Denys Kazanskyi, civil activist
Oles Doniy, civil activist, Member of Parliament of the 6th and 7th convocation
Mariya Berlinska, military and civil activist
Solomiya Bobrovska, civil activist, former acting head of Odesa Oblast State Administration
Masi Nayyem, Miller law firm, partner
Political Parties:
Political Party “The Power of People”
Political Party “National Corps”
Political Party “Civic Position”
Political Party DemAlliance (Democratic Alliance)
Political Party “Self-Reliance in the Verkhovna Rada”
Political Party Batkivshchyna
Political Power Alternatyva
Political Party People’s Movement of Ukraine
Interfactional unions
Interfactional Union Human Rights Coalition
Interfactional Union Eurooptimists
