About 10,000 people on Feb. 27 took to the streets to demand the release of Odesa activist Serhiy Sternenko, who was sentenced on Feb. 23 to seven years in prison on kidnapping charges. The verdict, seen as persecution for his political activism, has prompted a backlash from civil society.
During the rally in support of Sternenko, protesters marched from the President’s Office to the Prosecutor General’s Office, holding placards, burning flares and throwing smoke grenades.
Sternenko and his supporters have accused his political enemies, including Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova and President Volodymyr Zelensky’s deputy chief of staff Oleh Tatarov, of fabricating the case. Hence, during the rally, the protesters also demanded the firing of Venediktova and Tatarov.
Read more: Dubious ruling triggers protests, shows need for judicial reform
The rally started at 12 p.m. and ended at about 3 p.m.
