Page 18 - Report on the infringement of rights and guarantees of attorneys in Ukraine

ATTACKS
ON ATTORNEYS

2016:

Yevheniia Tarasenko
attorney

On 9 February 2016, in Odesa, the attorney sustained bodily injuries during the exercise of
her legal practice inflicted by Volodymyr Dmytrenko, a member of the Self-Defence
organization. In order to collect evidence the attorney began recording the offence and
when she pointed the camera at V. Dmytrenko, he hit her in her face with his fist, as a
result, the tablet used for recording fell and smashed, and attorney Tarasenko sustained
bodily injuries .
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Hanna Boryak
attorney
In February 2016, the attorney received threats and demands from the prosecutor to
refrain from participating in criminal proceedings. Later, the Public Security Council,
acting in the prosecution’s interests, threatened to use physical force against attorney
Hanna Boryak. Representatives of this organization blocked the court premises in order to
prevent the attorney from getting to court hearings. After the threats were made,
unidentified persons broke windows at the attorney’s office. The attorney filed a petition
for ensuring personal safety in accordance with the law, but received a refusal .
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Maksym Yurchenko
attorney
On 4 February 2016, an attorney from Kyiv Region was assaulted, two men ran up to him
and started to chaotically hit his face and body. The attorney managed to resist the
attackers, furthermore, a passersby helped him apprehend one of the offenders.

Andrii Sitnikov
attorney
On 13 April 2016, the attorney from Khmelnytskyi was beaten by two unidentified persons
at the entrance of his own home. He was returning from a meeting of the local initiative,
which opposed the construction of a multi-storey building. The attackers did not take any
of the attorney’s things, they only hit him several times and ran off. The injured man is sure
that he was beaten up precisely because he supported citizens angry with the illegal
construction.

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