A few days ago the Verkhovna Rada condemned the militia’s use of force against 3 parliamentarians in Uzhhorod on May 21, which took place when ex- governor Ivan Rizak was being transferred from a hospital to a detention cell. During the operation, a group of SDP (U) MPs — Nestor Shufrych, Tamara Proshkuratova, and Volodymyr Voiush — tried to intervene. The whole affair, originally viewed by the ruling political camp as a comedy show, turned into a heated debate in which those backing the victims of Ukrainian police brutality sounded more convincing than law enforcement officials and pro-presidential faction deputies.
A detailed account of the incident was given by eyewitnesses and two of the victims, Volodymyr Voiush and Tamara Proshkuratova. The key witness, Nestor Shufrych, was not in parliament, as he is still hospitalized. According to Mr. Voiush, people wearing masks “shoved him against the wall, grabbed him by the arms, and held him there.” He also said “they grabbed [MP Shufrych] by the legs and dragged him off the bed, banged his head on the floor, and fell on top of him.” “A masked man pounced on Proshkuratova, hit her in the face and twisted her handcuffed arm. She screamed and then moaned with pain,” reported MP Volodymyr Voiush.
Deputy General Prosecutor Viktor Shokin and Deputy Interior Minister Mykhailo Verbensky, who took the floor in the Verkhovna Rada after these accusations were made, had little if anything to add by way of refutation. The deputy interior minister, faced with accusations of politically motivated militia brutality in the Rizak case, said that criminal proceedings are underway against not only former heads of local administrations, but also those appointed by the new government. Mykhailo Verbensky also admitted that acts of violence against parliamentarians, or any citizens for that matter, are inadmissible. He promised to make every effort to prevent such situations. The arguments provided by the law-enforcement side and the new government boil down to this: Ivan Rizak is suspected of having committed serious crimes, and MPs have no right to resist the militia acting in the line of duty.
Conversations in the parliamentary corridors make it clear that much depended on the stand taken by two officials: Viktor Musiyaka, chairman of the VR ad hoc Human Rights and Freedoms Oversight Commission, and Ombudswoman Nina Korpachova. Mr. Musiyaka’s assessment of the incident was quite unambiguous: the militia acted contrary to the law. “We have objective grounds to state that excessive force was used against these parliamentarians.” He moved to hear the general prosecutor’s annual human rights and liberties progress report. Mrs. Korpachova took a similar stand, saying that “the people’s deputies chose the only possible way to defend a sick man under the circumstances.”
Ukraine’s first president, Leonid Kravchuk, issued by far the sharpest statement, but in a calm manner. He accused the new government of legally backing reprisals against political opponents, stressing that its actions and those of its law enforcers were turning into what he describes as a political show, with corruption flowering within Ukrainian society. Meanwhile, nothing has actually been done to combat it, contrary to the stated anticorruption campaign: “The state is gradually turning into a tool designed to implement political permissiveness. The president doesn’t want to hear about any immoral acts perpetrated by any members of his team, thus allowing this permissiveness to take place.” Leonid Kravchuk then made what sounded like a condemnation of the failed democrats: “Had I known in 1991 that there would be MPs in this audience neglecting each other’s rights, that our presidents would be concerned only about their interests, about decorating their office, contemplating which palace to move into, and that there would be permissiveness instead of democracy, I would have never signed the Belovezhskaya Pushcha agreement. I would sooner cut off my hand.” His speech elicited sharp responses from some MPs from the ruling factions, and he then repeated his statement.
In the end, the Ukrainian parliament turned out to be less divided by internal political conflicts than expected, as 227 MPs voted to condemn the militia brutality. They passed a resolution recommending the dismissal of Yuriy Bents, public prosecutor of Zakarpattia oblast, and the local militia head. It reads in part that “flagrant violations of constitutionally established human rights and freedoms, and parliamentarians’ status” were committed.
