FREEDOM! SOLIDARITY! INDEPENDENCE!

The Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights has been following the progress of this case from the very beginning. The interests of the victims are represented by the committee’s lawyer, Oleksandr Trofimov, whose efforts have not stopped the investigation of this case, which has recently become a rarity in cases of crimes committed by law enforcement agencies. The case was initially initiated by the Ripkinsky District Prosecutor’s Office, then transferred to the Chernihiv Prosecutor’s Office, and then ended up in the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine. Currently, the investigation of the events of November 24-25, 2004 is being conducted by the Military Prosecutor’s Office of the Chernihiv Garrison and under the personal control of the Prosecutor of the Chernihiv Garrison, Andriy Podosinov.

Last week, the victims of Belarus participated in the identification and face-to-face confrontations with the persons who participated in their violent detention. Unfortunately, to this day, it remains a mystery who gave the order in the capital to detain the Belarusian activists, as well as the names of many who directed and directly carried out the detention and arrest a year ago at the border checkpoint “Gornostayivka”.

The coordinator of the civic initiative “Charter’97” Dmytro Bondarenko expressed his hope that despite all the problems and troubles that have been occurring in Ukraine recently, the investigation into the violence against foreign citizens and the gross violation of their rights will be brought to an end, that the law will prevail over injustice and the guilty law enforcement officers will be punished.