Journalist Tetiana Chornovol, who was beaten on the night of December 25, is ready to be discharged from the hospital for further outpatient treatment, the press service of the Health Ministry of Ukraine reported.
“The health condition of journalist Tetiana Chornovol, who suffered a beating on December 25, 2013, is stable and satisfactory… Tetiana Chornovol can be discharged home for further outpatient treatment by relevant physicians,” the ministry said in a statement.
At the same time, the ministry’s press service said that the journalist flatly refused to be discharged.
As reported, Chornovol was beaten in Kyiv region in the early hours of Wednesday. She was driving her car when she was cut off by a dark-colored car. Unidentified individuals pulled the journalist out of the car and beat her up, pushing her car into a ditch.
The police first opened criminal proceedings under part 2 of Article 269 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (disorderly conduct), which were later re-qualified for Part 2 of Article 121 of the Criminal Code (causing grievous bodily harm).
The police detained five suspects involved in the attack: Oleksandr Khramtsov, Serhiy Kotenko and his brother Oleksandr Kotenko, and Andriy Nasikovsky, who hosted Serhiy Kotenko in his flat on the night the crime was committed. The name of the fifth suspect is not disclosed.
On December 27, a court ruled to put the four suspects in custody as a preventive measure until February 23, 2014.
The Porsche Cayenne car used in the attack on Chornovol was registered as belonging to Khramtsov. However, some media reported that Khramtsov sold this car to Kotenko, who had paid only a part of the total price to Khramtsov, so the car still was registered as belonging to the latter.
On December 28, a court ruled to arrest a fifth suspected attacker. The Interior Ministry said that the suspect was detained on December 27. This is a 34-year old resident of Dniprodzerzhynsk (Dnipropetrovsk region) who worked in a security guard service. He said that he came to Kyiv to buy Porsche Cayenne car. He confessed that he personally took part in beating the journalist.
Chornovol is a well-known journalist and social activist who has published a series of investigative materials concerning incumbent high-ranking officials.
