A year ago on May 17, Kyiv pedagogical college student Ihor Indylo was brought to Shevchenkivsky district police station. The next day, police called his parents to collect the 20-year-old’s body.
Indylo died of head trauma. Police say he fell off a bench in a detention cell. His parents are certain police officers beat him to death.
The public outcry that followed gave hope that the case would be investigated thoroughly with the guilty punished, an important signal for the horrendous situation involving deaths in police custody.
According to Kharkiv based Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Group, 15 people have died in police detention since the start of the year, compared to 51 in 2010.
“I think there are still some good chances for fair justice,” Indylo’s fellow student Viktoria Savych said. “But it can happen only if all the parties, both witnesses and suspects, start telling the truth.”
On the anniversary of Indylo’s death, several dozen Kyiv students brought candles and flowers to the Shevchenkivsky district police station to renew their calls for justice.
Kyiv police spokesperson Volodymyr Polishchuk was also invited to speak. “I am not saying that all police officers are innocent angels,” Polishchuk said. “A lot of criminal cases against policemen are being open now and the guilty ones are punished accordingly.”
Shevchenkivsky district police department on May 18.
Polishchuk didn’t deny cases of torture, but said that greater use of video cameras to document evidence is meant to help.
Students were not impressed. Attorney Oleh Veremiyenko said that video cameras in police stations won’t improve the situation dramatically, since police officers can beat detainees elsewhere.
“The entire system needs to be changed,” Veremiyenko said. “At least a witness protection program should be introduced so people would not be scared to testify against police officers.
Also we should introduce the practice of trial by jury.”
Oleksandr Khomenko, Indylo’s childhood friend and a key witness who accompanied him to the police department, gave contradictory and inconsistent testimony in the case.
He could not recall the sequence of events and complained about memory loss.
Indylo’s parents believe he was pressured by police into changing his testimony, something Khomenko denies.
The students who came to commemorate Indylo also asked about Serhiy Pryhodko, the officer who detained Indylo and brought him to the station.
According to Polishchuk, Pryhodko is suspended from his duties, but he can’t be fired unless the court finds him guilty. He has been getting paid all this time for performing no duties.
Meanwhile, the Desnyansky district court has ordered further investigation into the case.
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