The son of a deputy from President Viktor Yanukovych's Party of Regions is detained in Krasnodar, Russia. He is under investigation for beating a 20-year-old woman in a restaurant in the eastern city of Luhansk.
This videotape captures a portion of the beating.
Caught on video, the alleged attack has caused uproar in the media and Internet chat sites where commentators have decried the apparent impunity that Ukraine’s political and business leaders and their families act with.
The incident happened on late in the evening on July 3 into July 4 at Bakkara, a Luhansk restaurant. A member of the Luhansk City Council and son of parliamentary deputy Volodymyr Landik, Roman Landik is seen on the restaurant’s surveillance cameras reaching across a table, purposefully spilling a drink on the girl, Maria Korshunova. She throws a drink back at him. Landik then punches her. She hits him back in the head with what looks to be a bottle or glass. He launches into a violent assault on the girl, punching her and wrestling her across a table.
The fight ends after a few minutes. Calm returns to the restaurant. But Landik later returns and throws more blows. He grabs her by the arm, and pulls her onto the floor, dragging her along by her hair.
There is no sign of restaurant security protecting the girl in the packed restaurant.
Citing witnesses, local news portal Ostrov wrote that the video doesn’t capture the whole incident, and that the attack lasted around 20 minutes. (http://www.ostro.org/news/article-207666/)
Korshunova was taken to the hospital with concussion, damage to vertebrae and bruising.
The Luhansk Oblast prosecutor has opened a criminal investigation into Landik for alleged hooliganism. On July 9, Ukraine’s police announced that asearch warrant had been issued for Landik, who, they claim, could not be found at his permanent residence.
During a press conference on July 8, Yanukovych said he had discussed the incident with Landik’s father, whom he described as an acquaintance. Yanukovych said Landik’s father, a businessman and lawmaker, was defensive but disturbed about the incident.
During the week, Landik, 36, denied beating Korshunova and complained to police that she had attacked him.
News and videos of the incident spread like wildfire across the Internet. Landik’s page on social networks was covered with criticism, some using strong language. Many were shocked not only by a man beating a girl, but also the failure of men who were watching the incident to try to stop it.
