A group of human rights activists has appealed to democratic nations to ban the issue of visas to Ukrainian officials violating human rights and involved in political harassment in Ukraine and also to freeze their financial assets.
"A ban on the issue of visas to officials violating human rights and a freeze of the financial assets they have abroad can be an effective tool that could help stop the violation of human rights and political harassment in Ukraine. We are addressing the leaders of all democratic nations and asking them to apply the same sanctions to Ukrainian officials that violate human rights and are involved in political persecution in Ukraine," says an open letter posted on the portal of the Kharkiv Human Rights Group and the Ukrainian Helsinki Group.
"After the 2010 presidential elections the new Ukrainian leadership not only launched a policy apparently violating human rights but even started the political persecution of its opponents and critics. Given systemic violations of human rights, attacks on democratic rights and liberties in Ukraine there have been numerous appeals, rallies, declarations and other actions of representatives of human rights organizations, public activists and politicians on the impermissibility of such actions on the part of the authorities, including political persecution. However, we have to recognize the absence of any reaction or positive action on the part of the incumbent Ukrainian authorities and the actual exhaustion of instruments of changing the situation for the better," the message says.
