In
the morning of June 20, 2020, Ms. Valentyna Buchok, a women’s rights
defender and an active member of the Ukrainian
Survivor Network (SEMA Ukraine), was severely injured when a grenade
exploded in her backyard in Ukrainian government-controlled Ivanopillia
village, Kostiantynivsky District, Donetsk Region. Ms. Buchok was transferred
to the hospital with shrapnel injuries to her head, left arm and both legs.
Fortunately, no vital organs were hit. At the time of
publication of this statement, Ms. Buchok has not fully recovered from the
attack and still experiences a lot of pain as some shrapnel remains in her
body.
The
Observatory is concerned that the attack could have been an act of reprisal for
her public position and speeches[1]
following her release from illegal detention in the self-proclaimed “Donetsk
People´s Republic” (“DPR”). Ms. Valentyna Buchok was captured in
February 2017, while at work as an electrician in DPR-controlled Donetsk. She
was wrongfully sentenced to 17 years in prison for “espionage” (under Article
321 of the DPR Criminal Code) but released as part of a prisoner exchange in
December 2017. Since that time, Ms. Valentyna Buchok has been speaking out
about her time in captivity and the human rights abuses committed against herself
and others.
After the June 20 attack, Ms. Buchok’s
friends called the police of the government controlled city of Kostiantynivka,
after which Ms. Buchok was officially given victim’s status. TheGeneral Police
Directorate of the Donetsk region is now investigating the case for
"premeditated murder attempt".
This
was not the first time that Ms. Valentyna Buchok was targeted. Twice in the
past there were attempts to kill her. For example, on October 15, 2019, she
narrowly escaped a grenade attack, because her husband spotted the trip wire in
time. In addition, many ominous threats have been made against Ms. Buchok,
including by spilling blood in her backyard and the killing of her cats.
The Observatory strongly condemns the latest attack
against Ms. Valentyna Buchok and calls on the Ukrainian authorities to
guarantee, under any circumstances, her physical integrity and psychological
well-being, and to carry out a transparent, impartial, immediate and thorough
investigation into the above-mentioned attacks in order to identify all those
responsible, prosecute them before an independent tribunal and provide the
victim with effective remedies. We also
urge the Russian authorities, which wield control over the DPR, to ensure that
human rights defenders and human rights organisations in Eastern Ukraine are
able to carry out their legitimate activities, without any hindrance and fear
of reprisals.
The Observatory for the
Protection of Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 by
FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT). The objective of this
programme is to prevent or remedy situations of repression against human rights
defenders. FIDH and OMCT are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union
Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented by international civil
society.
[1] See for example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRv_Ui_A4VQhttps://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/donbas-realii/30684894.html, https://nv.ua/radio/inverythatplace/donbass-plennye-zhenshchiny-stavshie-zhertvami-nasiliya-reportazh-novosti-ukrainy-50060988.html, http://totalaction.org.ua/news/84,
https://www.prostir.ua/?news=dosvid-balkan-dlya-ukrajiny-zhinky-yaki-perezhyly-nasylstvo-v-hodi-vijny-obhovoryly-shlyahy-vidnovlennya-spravedlyvosti
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