UKRAINE: Anti-government protesters hold another rally outside the Interior Ministry in Kiev a day after unidentified men brutally beat investigative journalist Tetyana Chronovil

Record ID: 354075

  • Title: UKRAINE: Anti-government protesters hold another rally outside the Interior Ministry in Kiev a day after unidentified men brutally beat investigative journalist Tetyana Chronovil
  • Date: 26th December 2013
  • Summary: KIEV, UKRAINE (DECEMBER 26, 2013) (REUTERS) PROTESTERS IN FRONT OF UKRAINE'S INTERIOR MINISTRY PROTESTER HOLDING PHOTOGRAPH OF BEATEN UP INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST AND ACTIVIST TETYANA CHORNOVIL PROTESTERS HOLDING GIANT PORTRAIT OF UKRAINE'S INTERIOR MINISTER VITALY ZAKHARCHENKO PAINTED IN RED WITH SIGN READING (Ukrainian): "DOWN WITH BLOODY MINISTER" ZAKHARCHENKO'S FACE ON
  • Embargoed: 10th January 2014 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Ukraine
  • Country: Ukraine
  • Topics: Crime,General,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA3BW2C92S3I24ZBL3OTRW9W4YM
  • Story Text: Several hundred anti-government activists gathered outside the Interior Ministry headquarters in Kiev on Thursday (December 26) to protest against an attack on a journalist known for investigations into corruption amongst senior state officials.
    In an incident that could reignite anti-government protests in Ukraine, unidentified men brutally beat Tetyana Chornovil, 34. She remains in intensive care in a Kiev hospital and is expected to undergo several operations.
    Chornovil was found on a road outside of Kiev early Wednesday (December 25) morning, said local police. She was beaten and left in a ditch just hours after publishing an article on the assets of top government officials.
    Protesters were holding a portrait of Ukraine's Interior Minister Vitaly Zakharchenko painted in red with the words "Down with bloody minister" written on it.
    "I simply cannot stand this injustice anymore," said protester Tamara Lukashina. "Every day so many people come out (to protest), but nobody is listening to us."
    Another protester, Nadezhda Ivashchenko, said: "I have been expecting for a long time that they will do something that will wake everybody up and make people understand that they cannot live like this anymore, that they cannot tolerate what they (the authorities) are doing to them. We do not deserve such treatment. They (the authorities) don't have any right to beat people up; they don't have any right to ignore us."
    Chornovil told police her car was stopped by a vehicle just after midnight. A group of unidentified men got out and broke the rear window of her car.
    "They then pulled her from the car, beat her and left her in a ditch," police said in a statement.
    Chornovil suffered from concussion, numerous bruises and a broken nose, reported online newspaper Ukrainska Pravda.
    The Ukrainian capital Kiev has been gripped by street protests since late November when President Viktor Yanukovich's government refused to sign an association agreement with the European Union.
    Although the number of protesters is declining, political analysts say the growing frustration among those who remain creates a risk of violent clashes.
    Yanukovich has urged police to find those responsible for Chornovil's beating, his office said on Wednesday. Zakharchenko has been appointed head of the criminal investigation.
    Opposition leaders have said that government forces were employing increasingly brutal methods to repress activists who remain encamped on Kiev's Independence Square.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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