Get some news from our members in Kiev, a capital city subjected to a lot of protests, and where lawyers are constantly fighting against human rights abuses and potentially facing personal costs.
We have all seen the images: in the cold streets of Kiev, minus 25 degrees in winter, barricades have been erected in the street by protesters. Amidst these troubles, lawyers have been targeted by the authorities, and the lawyers have fought back to help people defend their rights.
Oleksii Bezhevets (EJ Ukraine) was contacted by phone: “Many people are getting beaten by the police,” he tells us. “And a few hundred have been put in prison, but human rights are being violated. The police forces deployed in Kiev are not very well prepared for such a challenge. It is new for them; they are specialised forces and they don't understand the people and the reasons why they protest. They are not taught how to treat citizens correctly”.
According to our EJ correspondents in Kiev, some people have been arrested in the street simply for wearing the colours of the national flag, which has become a sign of protest. Such individuals can find themselves in preemptive arrest with few or no charges. “Once people have been sent to a prison,” Oleksii says, “it is difficult to do something for them. So we try to intervene beforehand: we have given our cell phone numbers to protesters, which means that they contact us as soon as they witness an arrest. We go down to the police station, where the officers are more keen on listening to what a lawyer will say, and we do our best to have these people released before it is too late”.
Last month, we already wrote about Vitaly Tytych (EJ Ukraine) on our website, a lawyer who contributed to a peaceful protest towards the office of the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice in order to deliver a number of demands aiming at the restoration of human rights. Since then, Mr Tytych has had his office searched by the police. “It is written in our law,” explains Oleksii Bezhevets, “that if the police wants to search the office of a lawyer, then another lawyer must be present. They were not respecting this law, so at the request of Mr Tytych I hurried to his office”. Lawyers like Vitaly Tytych and Oleksii Bezhevets have been trying their best to contribute. “A lot of ordinary people are helping the protesters,” he says, “we saw people providing them with food and something to keep themselves warm...”
Our colleagues in Ukraine say that they need signs of support from the West. Eurojuris President, Hans Jonkhout, has written a letter which is reproduced below. He will be visiting Kiev and meeting local lawyers in mid-February. There will be more news in our next issue...
Eurojuris support towards Ukraine letter
Do you have something to say about the situation of our colleagues in Ukraine? Are you eager to contribute? Please let us know at journalist@eurojuris.net
