The attacks on human rights defenders and activists in Ukraine have become morefrequent in recent months. On November 4, 2018, Ms. Katerina Gandzyuk succumbed to theinjuries she had suffered from an earlier attack. Ms. Gandzyuk was a member ofthe Kherson city council (Southern Ukraine)and a prominent campaigner against police corruption and Russia-backedseparatism. On July 31, assailants poured almost a litre of sulfuric acid onher, which resulted in chemical burns to over 35% of her skin. On November 12, an assistant of a ruling-party deputyof the Ukrainian Parliament, Igor Pavlovsky, wasarrested as a suspect in this case. The authorities believe him to be anintermediary between the perpetrators and those who had ordered the murder.

“The tragic deathof Katya Gandzyuk should become the final call for the authorities to takenotice of the problem of persecution of activists in regions where the securityservices have merged with the corrupt local elites. We demand the effectiveinvestigation of all cases of attacks and a real fight against impunity” stated Oleksandra Matveychuk, Head of the Center for Civil Liberties,FIDH member organisation.

Sincethe beginning of 2017, human rights organisations have documentedas many as 55 unsolved attacks against activists. Accordingto the United Nations, from May 16 to August 15, 2018, 30 attacks onjournalists, defenders and activists, including physical violence, humiliationand intimidation, have been committed in Ukraine. Against this background, thestatement of Prosecutor General of Ukraine Yury Lutsenko, made during aSeptember-27 press conference after a session of the Parliament’s Committee onnational security, that some of the activists “show an atmosphere of utmost hatred for the authorities” and thereforebear the blame for the attacks, is extremely irresponsible.

Amongthe most notorious examples of recent attacks against humanrights defenders, on January 1, 2018, the body ofhuman rights defender Ms. Irina Nozdrovskaya, who was investigating the death of her sister, was found in the woodsnear Kyiv. On June 5, environmental activist Mr. Mykola Bychko was founddead in a village in Kharkiv region. Mr. Bychko was documenting the pollutionof a local river, allegedly caused by a nearby plant. Besides, other activistssuch as Mr. Vitaly Oleshko, Donbasveteran and a political activist, whoopposed the local authorities, wasshot in Berdyansk on July 31. On August 2, a truck rammed a car with the twoOdessa anti-corruption activists, investigative journalist Grigory Kozma andhead of the Odesa branch of the People’s Movement of Ukraine party MykhailoKuzakon. On September 22, also in Odessa, an unknown person shot activist Mr.Oleg Mikhailik, who had campaigned with the People’sPower movement (“Syla Lyudei”), a political party, against illegal construction in Odessa. This list continues to growevery day. Those who ordered the crimes have not been identified in any ofthese cases. In some, even the names of the perpetrators remain unknown.

“We are extremelyconcerned about the brutality of Katerina Gandzyuk’s murder. The murder of thedefender is a marker of an unhealthy, aggressive climate in which human rightsdefenders of Ukraine are forced to work and resist”, highlighted Ilya Nuzov, FIDH Eastern Europe andCentral Asia Desk Director. “We jointhe requests of the international community and the civil society in Ukraine toconduct an impartial, effective, prompt and transparent investigation. Attackson human rights defenders should not go unpunished and all those responsibleshall be brought to justice” concluded GeraldStaberock, OMCT Secretary General.

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (theObservatory) was created in 1997 by the World Organisation Against Torture(OMCT) and FIDH. The objective of this programme is to intervene to prevent orremedy situations of repression against human rights defenders. OMCT and FIDHare both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human RightsDefenders Mechanism implemented by international civil society.

For further information, please contact:

· FIDH: Audrey Couprie:+33 1 43 55 25 18 / acouprie@fidh.org

· OMCT: Miguel Martín /Delphine Reculeau: Tel: +41 22 809 49 39