In a move which makes a farce of the recent amnesty law, a court in Kyiv has heeded objections from the prosecutor and refused to release Yaroslav Prytulenko, one of the 9 “Bankova Prisoners”, detained following the Dec 1 disturbances on Bankova St

Participants in a peaceful protest on Dec 26 outside the opulent residence of the Interior Minister, Vitaly Zakharchenko have been informed that criminal proceedings have been initiated over graffiti on the minister’s fence.

In the latest repressive measure against activists who took part in the EuroMaidan car rally to the president’s highly controversial residence at Mezhyhirya, traffic police officers have stopped the car of Serhiy Poyarkov, Kyiv artist and one of the leaders of AutoMaidan

Allegations by the police that a traffic police officer was hit and injured by a EuroMaidan car rally driver on Jan 3 warrant close attention. This case and similar attempts to fabricate criminal charges over the last week or two could render all stern words about likely sanctions if the Ukrainian authorities continue to use violence against peaceful protesters largely meaningless.

The police in Donetsk are accusing a EuroMaidan activist of sexual abuse of a young girl whom nobody seems able to identify. The accusations against a Kharkiv activist of circulating pornography via the social network VKontakte are just as questionable

Four men remain in detention on dubious charges linked with the EuroMaidan protests. All should have been released by today, Jan 4, in accordance with the “amnesty law”.

Mykola Khavronyuk, a prominent criminal law specialist and research director for the Centre for Political and Legal Reform agrees that the amnesty bill is unimpressive as a legal document, but says that its aim is clear and can be enforced

Repressive measures and acts of vandalism are gaining pace in Donetsk, including pressure from the tax inspectorate on farmers who donated money and food to the Kyiv EuroMaidan

Court hearings are due on Friday regarding the cases of four men detained in connection with the EuroMaidan protests: Road Control journalist Andriy Dzyndzya; his lawyer Viktor Smaliy; AutoMaidan activist Volodymyr Kadura; and Yaroslav Prytulenko

The continued prosecution of Road Control’s Andriy Dzyndzya and Viktor Smaliy; AutoMaidan activist Volodymyr Kadura, and Yaroslav Prytulenko suggests that the amnesty law now in force is as empty as most commitments made by the current regime.

The verdict is awaited in the trial of three men charged, most bizarrely, with “terrorism” over an alleged plot to blow up a Lenin statue. Problems in understanding how blowing up a statue can be terrorism are exacerbated by one further detail: there was no monument

A Lutsk court has ordered that Ihor Huz, deputy of the Volyn Regional Council be placed under house arrest for 2 months over a peaceful protest in which Yanukovych’s portrait was carried upside down

Yaroslav Prytulenko is one of 9 men arrested after being beaten by Berkut riot police during the Dec 1 events on Bankova St. He remains in custody despite serious grounds for concerns about all the arrests, reflected in two Amnesty International urgent actions, and despite the “amnesty law” now in force

Ominous indicationOminous indications of heavy-handed methods, illegitimate demands for information and preposterous criminal proceedings aimed at intimidating local authorities, as well as individuals, protesting against the government’s about-turn on EU integration and brutal suppression of peaceful protest.

Three young men who burned a portrait of the presidentat a meeting of the Kalush City Council have been summoned for questioning. For the moment, they are considered witnesses, however this status is often fluid in Ukraine, as is the concept of what constitutes criminal behaviour

Two ominous court rulings on Friday cast in question any willingness by those in power to renounce repressive measures against peaceful protesters, journalists and lawyers representing them

Mykola Khavronyuk from the Centre for Political and Legal Reform stresses that Maya Moskvych and others now facing criminal proceedings cannot be accused of “denigrating” the president’s portrait which is not an offence in Ukrainian legislation

Please sign this Amnesty International petition calling on the President of Ukraine to ensure prompt, effective and independent investigations into all allegations of unnecessary, excessive or abusive use of force against the Euromaidan protesters

Criminal charges have been laid against Maya Moskvych and five other people, including Volyn deputies, over a protest action during which three portraits of the president were taken out of the Volyn Regional Council building and carried, upside down, to the centre of the city.

On Dec 17 the Shevchenkivsky District Court in Kyiv released Lviv photographer and EuroMaidan activist, Oleh Panas, effectively in exchange for a plea of „guilty”