Ukraine’s police force has never been the world’s friendliest bunch.
But now there is mounting evidence that it’s radically reconsidering its role in the society. Instead of protecting the citizens, officers now seem bent on doing the persecuting.
Interior Minister Anatoliy Mohylyov is already undoing some of the hard-won civil and human rights protections of the post-President Leonid Kuchma years.
Many of the freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution in reality are threatened by President Viktor Yanukovych’s administration.
This includes the freedom of movement, the freedom of expression and speech, the right for privacy and equality, the right for peaceful gatherings and personal security. The list goes on.
Mohylyov was appointed in March. One of his first acts was to dissolve an internal unit that monitored human rights – an essential check on the abuse of power by police officers on the 300,000-member force. The minister’s decisions progressively got worse from there.
As human rights activist Yevhen Zakharov writes in an opinion article on this page, many complaints are being registered about policy interference in the holding of peaceful gatherings and protests. In one of the most recent cases, the Orthodox Church of Kyiv Patriarchate complained on July 27 that law-enforcement officials attempted to prevent church followers from traveling to Kyiv to take part in a holy procession commemorating the 1022nd anniversary of the baptism of Kyivan Rus.
In Kharkiv, the police turned a blind eye to thugs who beat up activists protesting the felling of trees in a park.
The death of student, Ihor Indylo, in a Kyiv district detention center on May 18 highlighted the problem of torture and abuse in prisons and pre-trial detention centers. An internal investigation was allegedly launched into this case, but there has been no word of it since, nor will there likely be any conclusive or credible probe.
Despite law enforcement’s inability to solve real crimes and history of political subservience, police officers are getting more powers. The minister once again wants foreigners to undergo rigorous checks of their documents.
Also, the ministry is seeking to re-introduce personalized railway tickets, recording personal data of the travelers. All this is done under the pretext of fighting crime.
Mohylyov promised the president at a July 27 meeting that he will present a big plan for improving the Interior Ministry by the end of the summer.
One big improvement would be law enforcers who solve crimes fairly, competently and honestly.
They should serve all citizens, not bully them.
