On 21 July the Sadgirskiy local court condemned three former officers of the Chernivtsy town militia precinct, who last year mutilated a young dweller of Chernivtsy.

The parents complained to the European Court of human rights against the inhumane upkeep conditions and unjust verdict. Ukraine was obliged to pay the compensation

A young man was detained and illegally kept in custody. Beatings and other torture made him to bite through his veins

J. Schonbom, the Minister of Interior of the German lands Brandenburg, turned to citizens with the proposition to express their opinion on the adequate measures that may be applied by law-enforcing organs for fighting terrorism.

A detained jumped out from the window of the fourth floor of the district precinct during his meeting with an advocate. He could not bear torture any longer.

On 9 October the Council of Europe published in Strasbourg three reports on the periodic visits of the European Committee of preventing torture and cruel treatment in 1998, 1999 and 2001. These reports communicate that Ukrainian penitentiaries are overcrowded, beggarly and are dangerous concerning catching TB.

The system of punishing administratively or criminally those law-enforcers, who brutally violate the laws, applying torture and degrading treatment is quite inadequate. The author shows in figures what a negligible proportion of claims and complaints result in a real punishment of the guilty.

The former minister of interior bragged: "I have now a very tough team, they will do everything I will order“. He is right: militia chiefs train their subordinates as bloodhounds.

The text confirms the heading describing some concrete cases of the illegal actions of law-enforcers.

The text of the document is presented.

Brief author’s remarks on the conclusions of the UNO Human Rights Committee on the fifth periodical report of Ukraine.

The text of the document is presented.

The summary of the report of the Kharkov Group for human rights protection about torture in Ukraine.

On 14-15 November 2001 the UNO Committee against torture reviewed the fourth periodic report of Ukraine on the measures for realizing the obligations of Ukraine according to the UNO Convention against torture and other cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment. Along with the official report the Kharkiv Group for Human Rights protection prepared an independent report and two books ‘Against torture. Review of the information sources on cruel treatment and torture’ and ‘Against torture. International mechanisms on prevention of torture and cruel treatment’. Besides, the KG together with the Information Office of the Council of Europe in Ukraine organized and held the seminar ‘European legislation on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and improvement of the Ukrainian law’ on 17-18 October in Kyiv.