In Kharkiv, parallel rallies140 of two opposing groups (the supporters of a unified Ukraine and the supporters of federalisation) were held again on Freedom Square, under the surveillance of about 100 police officers, with no clashes reported. Compared to previous months, the assemblies tended to involve more participants. An increased in participation of women in public protests could be observed, on average representing over 60% of demonstrators. This could be attributed to the growing number of protests against mobilization, in which mothers of the drafted soldiers play a leading role. In Odesa, activists supporting federalisation continued to gather on the main square, Kulikove Pole, protesting against the security operation in the east and the slow investigation into the 2 May events and demanding fair trials for pro-federalism activists who had been detained. On the other hand, pro-unity activists organised protests in relation to lustration, corruption, environmental protection, as well as “anti-Russian” protests, such as requests for a boycott of products from the Russian Federation. In the past few weeks, there has been an observable increase in tensions as a result of rallies where activists of opposing sides gathered in the same place, trying to provoke each other. Some activists were arrested due to aggressive behaviour and “hooliganism” and all were released after a maximum of three hours. C. Freedom of religion or belief On 8 August, after the regular evening session of the Prayer Marathon in Donetsk, four activists (three men and one woman) were abducted by the armed groups. The female activist was released the same day; two abducted Protestant pastors were released the following day. The fourth activist (also Protestant) was released on 12 August. According to the Prayer Marathon participants, his health was satisfactory, yet he required recovery. They were initially detained because in the view of the armed groups they were participating in an “unsanctioned” rally. However, once identified as Protestants, they were subjected to harsher treatment. In the so-called constitution of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, the Orthodox Christianity of the Moscow Patriarchate is the only recognised religion, and all other “sects” are prohibited. IV. ACCOUNTABILITY FOR HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS 104. Investigations into the 2 May violence in Odesa The official investigation into 2 May violent events in Odesa has made little progress. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Office of the General Prosecutor, which are two of the entities leading the investigation, have not provided results. However, they did present some preliminary findings. On 6 August, at the request of the Temporary Oversight Commission of the Odesa Regional Council, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the SBU and the Regional Prosecutor’s Office presented their preliminary findings on at a Council session. Most of the information provided did not contain new elements; some information published by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Office of the General Prosecutor appeared to be contradictory with regard to the number of suspects and detainees and the results of forensic examinations. There was also a difference of opinion about the proposal to disclose the detainees’ political affiliation since this might be considered as influencing the case. The following information was reported by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the 33 suspects regarding 2 May violence in the city centre, 12 were in custody and 21 under house arrest, and 140 The holding of parallel rallies in one place was commonplace previously, especially during April-May, when in many cases it led to clashes between the protestors with resulting casualties. 211 | P a g e