You're reading: US State Department concerned about reports of torture in Ukraine, calls to punish those responsible

U.S. State Department spokesperson Marie Harf has expressed concern about disappearances and killings of demonstrators in Ukraine and urged the authorities to find and punish those responsible for this.

“We remain deeply concerned about reports of human rights violations in Ukraine such as disappearances and killings. We are appalled by recent instances of targeting peaceful protestors in Ukraine. For example, the evidence that Automaidan organizer Dmytro Bulatov suffered prolonged torture during his week’s disappearance is extremely disturbing,” reads her statement made at a briefing on Friday and posted on the Web site of the State Department.

Harf called on the Ukrainian authorities to actively investigate these cases, locate all the missing activists and prosecute those who played a role in their disappearance.

“For the political dialogue to succeed, the government must take immediate steps to change the atmosphere,” the State Department’s spokesperson said.

She said that U.S. State Secretary John Kerry would meet with Ukrainian opposition leaders on Friday 1 to discuss the situation in Ukraine.