Kyiv police clashed with the far-right activists who seized the building of Sviatoshynsky Court in Kyiv on the morning on Oct. 24.
The court is supposed to decide whether to prolong the arrest of Mykola Kokhanivsky, the leader of the volunteer battalion of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, who stands accused of assault.
Kokhanivsky was detained on Oct. 21 after he reportedly shot at Ruslan Kachmala, a former commander of far-right group the Right Sector, using a non-lethal gun that he had no license to carry. Kachmala was left wounded.
The supporters of Kokhanivsky seized the building of the court in the late hours of Oct. 23 after the court postponed ruling on Kokhanivsky’s arrest to the next day. They used furniture to block the entrances to the court building, with Kokhanivsky inside.
The supporters said that Kokhanivsky was being tortured and that court was violating his rights by prolonging the arrest.
Police unsuccessfully tried to take over the court building during the night. In the morning, when the protesters unblocked the entrance to resume the hearing, the police stormed in, detained around 30 people, including at least one journalist who was reporting from the scene.
The police storms Sviatoshynsky Court in Kyiv on the morning on Oct. 24. (Ukrainska Pravda)
The Head of Kyiv Police Andriy Krischenko told Channel 112 the arrested activists were charged with property damage and group hooliganism.
