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The Tribunal for Putin (T4P) global initiative was set up in response to the all-out war launched by Russia against Ukraine in February 2022.

Hrushevsky Prisoners Poltavets and Tsilytsky to remain in custody

11.02.2014   

       

Dmytro Poltavets                   Vladislav Tsilytsky

Both men, like the Bankova Prisoners, were seriously beaten up and are now facing charges of organizing mass riots, with these based solely on the testimony of the police officers who detained them.

On Tuesday the Kyiv Court of Appeal (judges Bets, Yefimova and Koval) refused to release Dmytro Poltavets from custody. This is despite the fact that the only ‘evidence’ against him is based on allegations from the two police officers who arrested him. Like the previous Bankova St prisoners whose detention and charges were also based solely on allegations from the Berkut riot police who had beaten them up, Poltavets was beaten after being detained on Jan 22 on Instytutska St. He is currently in the emergency medical care clinic.

The same court, under judges: Batashchuk, Bets and Yefimova rejected the appeal against the detention of Vladislav Tsilytsky. Prosecutor Kutyepov had opposed the appeal. The charges are once again based solely on the reports of police officers.

Tsilytsky, a programmer for Samsung, was detained on Jan 20 on Hrushevsky St. He too was badly beaten and is also in an emergency medical care clinic.

Both men. like the Bankova prisoners, are facing charges under Article 294 of the criminal code of organizing mass riots. This carries a term of imprisonment from 8 to 15 years.

It seems likely that the hard line being taken is part of a police of overt blackmail by prosecutor’s office and police to force acceptance of a flawed bill which demands that all protesters effectively go home before criminal charges against other protesters are terminated.

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