Appeal from human rights organizations regarding the need for an immediate investigation into human rights violations during the Euromaidan

The entire country and the international community were shocked by the massive human rights violations that occurred during the Euromaidan. Murders, torture and ill-treatment, illegal detentions and arrests, fabrication of criminal proceedings, violations of the right to a fair trial, illegal surveillance, searches and wiretapping of telephones, obstruction of peaceful assemblies, bribery and various forms of persecution of representatives of the opposition and civil society should be investigated in order to punish the guilty.

However, we note the lack of an investigation. The necessary investigative actions are not being carried out. An initiated internal investigation by the Ministry of Internal Affairs cannot replace a full-fledged investigation within the framework of criminal proceedings.

We demand that the authorities conduct a prompt, independent and objective investigation of all crimes in accordance with international human rights standards.

In particular, to this end we demand:

1) To urgently establish an operational-investigative group headed by a new Prosecutor General of Ukraine, who should be appointed immediately in consultation with Maidan. This person should have experience in conducting criminal investigations. This group should include retired professional investigators, representatives of the public, as well as invited foreign (international) investigators (for example, investigators from Interpol or US investigative agencies) to assist in conducting investigative actions and ensure the objectivity and independence of the investigation. All members of the investigative group cannot be representatives of political parties and cannot have conflicts of interest in relation to the persons who will be investigated.

2) Publicly announce the composition of the operational-investigative group and determine those responsible for collecting evidence with the participation of the public. In particular, the public should know who witnesses of crimes should contact, where relevant documents or other possible evidence in these cases should be submitted, and to whom reports of crimes that have not yet been reported should be submitted.

3) Investigators should ensure that all criminal proceedings regarding these events are consolidated into one investigative group. It is necessary to immediately carry out all necessary investigative actions: all appropriate independent examinations, inspect the scene of the events, interrogate witnesses to the events, collect evidence, conduct searches and seize documents and other evidence at the addresses of work and residence of suspects, seize the accounts of suspects and their property, take measures to search for suspects, etc. We especially emphasize the adoption of immediate measures to protect witnesses, the impossibility of putting pressure on investigators, and the preservation of possible evidence.

4) All law enforcement officers who are suspects in the case, or against whom there is a statement of a crime, should be immediately removed from their positions until the investigation is completed. Particular attention should be paid to the identification of those persons who were issued combat weapons, the places and times of their deployment at the time of the deaths, as well as the seizure of weapons, ammunition and gunshot wounds for the purpose of conducting a proper ballistic examination.

5) The investigative group should regularly inform the public about the status of the investigation, and upon completion of the investigation, publish a report.

We also demand that the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine urgently consider the issue of ratifying the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and making appropriate amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine to recognize its jurisdiction. This will not only protect the people of Ukraine from the recurrence of such tragedies, but will also help in the search for persons suspected of committing crimes against humanity who are hiding abroad.

Punishing the guilty will be one of the most important factors in preventing such human rights violations in the future, as well as a certain form of lustration of persons who were involved in mass human rights violations. The lack of an investigation can be regarded as concealing the crime and, accordingly, further complicity in it. That is why the punishment of the guilty is one of the most important demands of human rights defenders.

Mykola Kozyrev, Chairman of the Board of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union

Arkady Bushchenko, Executive Director of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union