The story of the attack by national police on human rights activist Berezhnaya will go to the European Parliament
Well-known human rights activist, head of the Institute of Legal Policy and Social Protection, Elena Berezhnaya, in an interview with Klymenko Time, told the details of her detention, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
Let us remind you that in Kyiv during the procession of the “Immortal Regiment” on May 9 national police carried out a brutal arrest activists allegedly for the St. George ribbon on their T-shirt.
Recalling the events of Victory Day, Berezhnaya noted that before the incident, she was in the sight of the police for almost an hour and a half, who were quite correct. Forming the ranks of the “Immortal Regiment” preparing for the march, the woman was constantly in sight, walked along the column, and the law enforcement officers were not embarrassed by either the T-shirt or the portrait of Oles Buzina. The attack occurred as she returned to the orchestra, which had moved slightly away from the main mass of people to give way to the column.
“I was surrounded by about ten people, I would call them militants. All in black, arrogant. I was told that this was S-14, but I have never encountered them in judicial or criminal cases to identify them. Everyone seemed to be the same height, trained,” recalls Berezhnaya.
The Nazis surrounded the human rights activist and began to demand that she tear up the portrait of Buzina, shouting: “Who is he, what is he doing here?” Then they called “their” policemen:
“I saw that this was clearly a prepared provocation. All other police officers were correct and tactful, there was no aggression. And here they brought some of their policemen. One was very aggressive. And he started screaming, “What is this bastard doing here?” at the portrait of Elderberry, tear it out, grab my hands.”
The woman tried to ask the police for help, to explain that she was the organizer, that she was being insulted and threatened.
“They told me that I would end up in the same place as my daughter,” she noted.0
One of the policemen began to wring Berezhnaya’s hands, helping the right-wing radical snatch the portrait of Buzina. The woman believes that they wanted to tear him up in front of numerous cameras. One of her comrades tried to defuse the situation, who took the portrait and hid it. After that, the Nazis attacked Berezhnaya, seeing the St. George ribbon on her T-shirt. At the same time, for those especially suspicious, the victim even had documents on hand confirming that the design on the clothing was not such. According to her, she wore this T-shirt while filling out all the documents for the protest, coordinating it with the police, and it didn’t embarrass anyone.
After Buzina’s portrait was saved, and Berezhnaya’s comrade was pushed aside under threats for standing up for the woman, the policeman and his Nazi accomplice continued to twist the victim’s arms. Then she was hit hard by one of the right-wing radicals:
“I lost consciousness, and more police officers appeared. I came to my senses sitting next to the wheel of a police car. I felt nauseous and dizzy and started asking to call an ambulance. Instead, they forced me into a car and took me to the district police station.”
When Berezhnaya was dragged to the district police station, the woman found the strength to note in the registration log that she had been beaten by police officers. She asked to call an ambulance, but the police started drawing up a report and forced me to write an explanation.
“Everything is swimming before my eyes, I write that this T-shirt has nothing to do with the St. George ribbon. “Draw up, sign, we will throw you out of here. This is what we needed” – you understand, they did not hide the fact that they just needed to remove me, to humiliate me,” the human rights activist believes.
According to the victim, thus, the Nazis, with the help of the police, wanted to get back at her for the trial suspended at the request of her organization on the issue of renaming the streets of Kyiv in honor of Bandera’s heroes.
“They saw how bad I was, they saw the bruises. They said: “Well, it’s not us, it’s you who were brought here like that. We will quickly finish the protocol and throw you out. And then deal with the ambulance yourself.” As it turned out, ambulances arrived, but the police did not start them. They didn’t launch the OSCE - Fernando arrived (Fernando Erera Inoraha - ed.) Then, when lawyer Novitskaya appeared, they launched everyone. Including the ambulance, which was already the third one. I was ready to sign anything as long as medical care was provided,” the woman noted.
“They also drew up a protocol that I, as the organizer, had violated the law on St. George’s ribbons. They said: “This will all blow up in court, but we need to sign.” That is, they themselves understood that this was a performance, a provocation,” she added.
When the ambulance staff examined the victim and measured her blood pressure, they said that another half hour would have led to a stroke.
“This was an order to deal with me as a human rights activist who protects from the lawlessness that the national police are doing, among other things. And the second is an order to sort out a trial that was humiliating for nationalists,” Berezhnaya is sure.
According to her, the first complaint has already been filed about illegal actions of police officers - beatings, beatings, negligent behavior in the district department, and a second statement has been agreed upon about hooligan actions of right-wing radicals - infliction of moderate bodily harm.
“Beating, dragging to the district police station and not providing medical assistance, according to the international convention, is equivalent to torture. All international organizations, embassies know, the European Parliament already knows. We were preparing a trip there at the end of May for a round table with the participation of two vice-presidents of the European Parliament in anticipation of the preparation of a resolution that will be adopted in November to consider how the conditions of association with the EU are being fulfilled by Ukraine, what violations of human rights and freedom of speech are allowed in the country,” said the human rights activist.
“This is a big minus for our country and the police whose reforms Avakov beautifully told us about,” added Elena Berezhnaya.
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