Oleksandr Komarnitsky, an activist for ex-Defense Minister Anatoly Grytsenko’s Civil Position party, died on June 23 after being beaten by police officers in the city of Vinnytsya. He had been in a coma for 12 days.
To many, Komarnitsky’s death appeared to be another sign that Ukraine’s efforts to reform and cleanse its police force are failing. Calls are mounting for Interior Minister Arsen Avakov to resign, while he denies the accusations of wrongdoing.
Grytsenko said on June 13 that Komarnitsky had been severely beaten by police officers at a bus stop on June 11. He said he had skull fractures.
According to Grytsenko, the police officers met Komarnitsky in the street and wanted to invite him as a witness of the seizure of weapons but the activist refused because he was in a hurry.
The officers claimed that he had threatened them and had behaved aggressively.
The State Investigation Bureau charged one of the officers with abuse of power and unlawful violence on June 22. A court put the police officer under house arrest on June 23.
If jailed, he faces a prison term of three to eight years.
Several top officials of Vinnytsya Oblast police, including its chief, have been suspended or fired in connection with the case.
Meanwhile, Cherkasy-based journalist Vadym Komarov died on June 20 after being severely beaten on May 4.
Journalists believe he was targeted for assassination because of his investigative journalism exposing corruption among local officials and politicians. No suspects have been identified and no arrests reported.
There have also been several cases of police violence recently.
A five-year-old boy, Kyrylo Tliavov, died in a Kyiv hospital on June 3 after drunken police officers in the town of Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky allegedly shot him.
In May, Rivne police caused a scandal by arresting two peaceful protesters for one-person pickets against President Volodymyr Zelensky, accusing them of violating public assembly rules. Zelensky then urged the police not to take action against peaceful protesters.
