No to police state
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| Civil campaign "No to police state" Громадянська кампанія "Ні поліцейській державі" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Image used by activists during the campaign | |||
| Date | May 2010 | ||
| Location | |||
| Caused by | The death of student Igor Indylo in the police precinct of Shevchenkivskyi District, Kyiv | ||
| Goals | To force government to conduct a proper investigation and punish guilty police officers | ||
| Methods | Protests | ||
| Status | Unfinished | ||
| Parties | |||
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| Lead figures | |||
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The campaign "No to police state" (Ukrainian: Громадянська кампанія "Ні поліцейській державі", romanized: Hromadianska kampaniia "Ni politseiskii derzhavi") was a Ukrainian civil campaign against police brutality that began in 2010, in response to the death of 20-year-old student, Ihor Indylo, while in police custody in Kyiv. The campaign demanded a proper investigation into Indylo's death and the prosecution of those guilty, as well as investigation into other high-profile cases of police misconduct.
Ihor Indylo died in the police precinct of Shevchenkivskyi District, Kyiv, on May 18, 2010. Indylo's family, as well as civil activists and journalists, believed that he was murdered by the police.[1] His death captured public attention and started a civil campaign. In the spring of 2011, Judge Mykola Yashchenko of the Kyiv Court of Appeals ordered further investigation into the incident, ruling the prosecution had not properly established a cause of death.[2]
Timeline of Indylo's death
Source:[3]
17 May 2010
- Indylo invites friends to his dormitory to celebrate his birthday
- CCTV shows Indylo enter the police station at 8:38PM
- Indylo is interrogated by officers
- an ambulance is called at 8:52PM
- the ambulance leaves at 9:20PM, Indylo is conscious
- at 9:49 CCTV shows officers dragging Indylo to a cell and leaving him on the floor
18 May 2010
- at 1:23AM, Indylo rolls off a bench and falls approximately 50cm
- no further movement from Indylo after 3AM
- police discover his body at 4:51AM
Conflicting versions of events
Police
Police made no statements in the first days after Indylo's death,[4] but media attention forced police to make a statement on May 26. The Shevchenkivskyi chief of police Petro Miroshnychenko announced: "We know that Indylo fell three times. First, he was seen laying on the floor in the dormitory. Second, he fell in the presence of his friend. Third, he has fallen from the bench in the police precinct from a height of approximately half a meter."[citation needed]
Ukraine Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights
On June 2, Ukraine Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights Nina Karpachova stated that Indylo's death was a murder and police will try to "hush up" the case.[5]
Society and media
Activists of the "No to police state" campaign pointed out controversial facts of Indylo's death and accused the involved policemen of murder.
On June 18 during a press conference in Kyiv, journalists announced the results of their own investigation. Journalist Dmytro Gnap announced that Indylo was most likely pushed hard, hit the wall and became unconscious because the right half of his brain was injured. A brain hemorrhage started and lasted for nearly 7 hours. Then Indylo was dragged to the room for administrative detainees and left to die. Gnap also announced that Indylo was not tortured and other journalists, who took part in investigation, agreed with him.
MP Yurii Karmazin announced that he did not believe Indylo's injuries to be accidental. According to his experience in law enforcement, such injuries cannot be caused by the fall to the floor. Journalist Olena Bilozerska and human rights activist Tetyana Yablonska also believed that Indylo was tortured.
Goals
According to activists, their goal was to punish all involved in high-profile cases of police brutality.
Among these cases are:
- The death of Igor Indylo in the police precinct of Shevchenkivskyi District in Kyiv, which started the campaign;[6]
- The beating of an activist protecting the Park of Maxim Gorky in Kharkiv from destruction. Police beat the activist by themselves or did nothing to stop other men beating activists;[7]
- The death of Dmytro Yashuk in the police precinct of Sviatoshynskyi District in Kyiv. He was found hanged. Police claimed that he hanged himself, but others were convinced that somebody hanged him;[8][9]
- The beatings of Denis Malenko, Andriy Bondar and the underage Sergiy Ivanchenko in the police precinct of Leninskiy District in Kropyvnytskyi;
- The beatings of two journalists, Dmytro Stoykov and Yevgen Safonov, by policemen in Zaporizhzhia. The guilty policeman were only reprimanded;
- The systematic obstruction of meetings and protest actions by police.
By June 2010, the demands of activists became more global. They started demanding police reform and amendments to laws.
Activists demanded:
- The strengthening of punishment for misconduct, especially for tortures;
- The expansion of the powers of the Ukraine Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights, especially concerning the prevention and combating of torture by policemen;
- The reestablishment of public councils in all territorial divisions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and establishment of transparent mechanisms for public access to monitor police work.
