Ombudsman Joseph Said Pullicino today urged the Maltese government to show solidarity with the Ukrainian people after a statement by the First Ukrainian Ombudsman condemning repressive actions and excessive use of force by the police in the Ukraine.
In a statement issued days before the Ukrainian President arrives on a State visit, Prof Said Pullicino said he had received a statement from the First Ukrainian Ombudsman, Nina Karpachova about the situation in her country.
In her statement, the Ukrainian Ombudsman said:
“I strongly condemn the disproportionate use of the brutal force by the special
police “Berkut” units against the participants – most of them are young students – during the peaceful demonstration at the Maidan of Independence Square on 30 November 2013.
"The Special Forces practically made an assault against these boys and girls after surrounding them without any possibility to escape. They were surrounded by a metal fence on one side and armed “Berkut” on the other side. It was a bloody outrage against peaceful people. I evaluate such actions as cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment, which is a violation of the UN Convention against tortures.
"It was also shameless to use force and illegal interference against journalists,
when they performed their professional duties, which is a violation of Article 171 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
"I feel deep regrets and shame that the Ukrainian authorities failed this test on democracy, respect for the rule of law and human rights. In fact, the authorities have refused to carry out its constitutional duty to secure the right of
the citizens to freedom of peaceful assembly as required by Article 39 of the Constitution of Ukraine, Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), Article 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and case-law of the European Court of Human Rights, in particular in cases of Verentsov vs. Ukraine and Shmushkovych vs. Ukraine.
"The civilized democratic society has to guarantee respect for human rights and human dignity, personal integrity, freedom of speech andexpression, rights to peaceful assembly and demonstrations. And the punishment for all those responsible for the brutal human rights violations that have taken place in these
days in Ukraine should be inevitable under national law and European standards....”
Prof Said Pullicino said that in view of next week's visit by Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, he wished to express his solidarity with the First Ukrainian Ombudsman and the Ukrainan people, and invited the Maltese authorities to do likewise.