Activists detained outside President’s Administration

At least 8 young members of the Coalition of Participants in the Orange Revolution were detained by police on Monday afternoon during an entirely peaceful, if not overly flattering, expression of their opinion of President Yanukovych.  The protest, together with the many thousand strong protest calling for the release of political prisoners on Maidan Nezalezhnosti [Independence Square] was held to mark three years since Yanukovych inauguration.

The young women (some underage) were detained near the President’s Administration.  They were planning to pass pumps to Yanukovych (fairly untranslatable – the term for conning somebody originates from the term for blowing something full of air.  They say he’s been doing this for three years, here are pumps for do it for a fourth – translator) and apparently also had banners reading Chyvokunya go away!  [the name in Ukrainian is Yanukovych spelt backwards – tramslator].

They were taken away after trying to get to the President’s Administration through a police cordon.  According to gazeta.ua there were around 100 police officers outside the entrance, as well as two vans with extra officers.

They were taken to the police station, with no explanation given as to the reason for their detention.  The police also detained two journalists, two activists as well as the leader of the Coalition of Participants in the Orange Revolution, Serhiy Melnychenko.

He asserts that he was detained on the street although he was not taking part in the protest.

Photos from Ukrainsky Tyzhden, Information from there and from gazeta.ua