Members of Ukraine's nationalist organizations, who are staying in Zaporizhia detention facility, have refuted the reports that they were tortured.
They told this to representatives of the Prosecutor’s Office of Zaporizhia region in the presence of Ukrainian journalists.
All nine detainees – members the Tryzub (Trident) All-Ukrainian Association and the Svoboda All-Ukrainian Association were invited to the talk with the prosecutor.
When asked by representatives of the prosecutor’s office, whether they were maltreated or physically abused in jail, eight detainees responded negatively, noting that they were not tortured in the prison and had no injuries.
Only one detainee, Roman Khmara, refused to answer the questions from the prosecutor. The representative of the prosecution said that "it was his right."
The prosecutor’s office has checked the conditions of detention of members of the Tryzub (Trident) All-Ukrainian Association named after Stepan Bandera and found no violations.
The law enforcement agencies conducted from four to 16 checks on the observance of the legislation regarding each of those detained. The Prosecutor General’s Office said that the rights of the detained [to legal] defense were observed in full.
"Thus, reports in some mass media about the alleged violations of constitutional rights of the detained do not correspond to reality. And claims by Tryzub activists about torture at the places of detention are nothing but an attempt to create an image of ‘martyrs,’ and an attempt to manipulate public opinion in order to avoid responsibility for the committed crime," the Prosecutor General’s Office said.
On the evening of Dec. 28, a monument to Stalin in Zaporizhia on the territory of the regional committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine was beheaded.
On that day, the Tryzub organization announced it was responsible for this, having shown on the Internet a relevant video. On Dec. 31, the monument to Stalin was blown up.
Seven activists of Tryzub were arrested for beheading the monument to Stalin, but nobody has yet been arrested in connection with the case on the blowing up of the monument.
