Four civic activists detained at peaceful protest

On Monday morning four prominent civic activists were “taken to the police station” though supposedly not detained as they attempted to take part in a peaceful protest in support of Vinnytsa Human Rights Group Coordinator Dmytro Groisman.

According to one of the four, Ihor Lutsenko, the police simply rounded up those whom they identified as the organizers of the protest – presumably on the grounds of whether they recognized their faces since Ihor Lutsenko was not one of the organizers. The other three currently detained (or “taken to the police station”) are lawyer Yevhenia Zakrevskaya, and civic activists Mykhailo Kamenev and Mykhailo Lebed.

The police action was prompted by the District Court’s ban from 2 March on any protests outside the Prosecutor General’s Office until the end of April.   

The verdict is expected today in the very worrying prosecution case against Dmytro Groisman.  The charges against him are outlined here Criminal Charges against Human Rights Activist Dmytro Groisman