Human Rights Watch: Police face challenges, but nothing justifies beatings, kidnappings

Published Jan. 24, 2014 at 10:57 am

A protesters with injuries sustained to his head following clashes with riot police is led away from Kyiv's Hrushevskoho Street, the site of most of this week's violence, by a police officer on Jan. 22.

Photo by AFP

Riot police brutally beat several people, including a 17-year-old, who were detained on January 20, 2014, during a standoff in Kyiv. In the early hours the next day, unidentified assailants kidnapped two activists from a hospital and severely beat them; the body of one of them was found the next day.

“Police in Kyiv face serious challenges, but nothing can justify the vicious beatings we’ve documented,” said Yulia Gorbunova, Ukraine researcher at Human Rights Watch. “These are very serious crimes that need thorough investigation, and the people responsible should be held accountable.”

Read the full statement here.