Threats, physical violence and clashes with radicals - this is how the Ukrainian authorities suppress objectionable rallies
Kyiv, February 17 (PolitNavigator, Vladimir Mikhailov) – With regard to freedom of peaceful assembly in Ukraine, nothing has changed for the better after the overthrow of Viktor Yanukovych, says Vladimir Chemeris, human rights activist, chairman of the Republic Institute.
He stated this at a press conference in Kyiv, at which the results of monitoring protests and repressions in August-December 2014 were presented.
Subscribe to the news "PolitNavigator - Kyiv" in Facebook, Classmates or In contact with
“Many peaceful assemblies do not take place in Ukraine - either because of threats from opponents of these peaceful assemblies, or because of threats that come from high government officials. The most vulnerable are rallies for peace and against mobilization, as well as rallies with socio-economic demands, of which there are more and more now,” he said.
As an example, he cited threats and physical pressure on participants in the Kievpastrans rally, which took place in Kyiv in December 2014.
“Just recently we heard from a people’s deputy, a member of the board of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, that everyone who goes to a rally against mobilization will be detained and their fingerprints will be taken. People who had not committed any offense simply wanted to express their point of view. Because of this, the meeting did not take place.
In many cases, rally participants are attacked by far-right forces. In such cases, the police simply do nothing, ignoring the Law of Ukraine “On the Police”.
Thus, there have been no significant changes in freedom of assembly in Ukraine,” concluded Vladimir Chemeris.
If you find an error, please select a piece of text and press Ctrl + Enter.
Thank you!
Now the editors are aware.