Two young Rivne residents ended up at the police station facing administrative charges on May 25 over their peaceful protest on Rivne’s Independence Square with four placards protesting President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s first appointments since his inauguration and calling for his impeachment. The two – a 16-year-old girl and her 20-year-old male friend – had indeed not informed the authorities in advance of their plans, however the police spokesperson’s claim that this was “an unauthorized meeting” is disturbingly reminiscent of Russia, not Ukraine, where no ‘authorization’ is required.
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Halya Coynash: Young people detained for ‘unauthorized’ protest demanding Zelenskiy’s impeachment
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky leaves Ukrainian Parliament after his inauguration ceremony in Kyiv on May 20, 2019.
