105. Investigations into human rights violations committed at Maidan Eighty-four criminal proceedings have been instituted in connection with human rights violations committed during the Maidan protests, held in Kyiv and other cities of Ukraine from November 2013 until February 2014. They concern the circumstances surrounding the forceful dispersal of protesters on 30 November 2013, the killing of protesters on 19-21 January 2014 and mass killings on 18-20 February 2014. In addition 30 cases of unlawful acts by law enforcement officers against participants of the AutoMaidan are under investigation. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Prosecutor’s offices investigated 445 cases of unlawful acts against demonstrators between November 2013 and 1 August 2014 according to the Office of the General Prosecutor. Of these 66 cases were closed with no crime having been committed, 265 were merged with other cases and 84 are ongoing, as of 1 August. On the basis of these investigations, 76 civil servants, including law enforcement officers, 6 judges, and 2 civilians are to undergo pre-trial criminal investigation. Forceful dispersal of protesters on 30 November 2013 As noted in previous reports, the forceful dispersal of protesters on 30 November 2013 was the first instance of the excessive use of force against peaceful Maidan demonstrators and triggered further protests. A law141 adopted shortly after the 30 November events, decriminalized all the protesters’ deeds and some acts of violence and human rights violations committed during the forceful dispersal of the demonstration, thus discharging the perpetrators from criminal responsibility for these actions. The law was repealed on 21 February. The Office of the General Prosecutor informed the HRMMU that five persons were on 24 February notified of being under suspicion for illegal obstruction of public meetings, rallies and demonstrations. However, the pre-trial investigation into this was suspended on 17 July due to the prosecution being unable to locate three of the suspects who have apparently fled Ukraine. In addition, by court order on 29 July, the Office of the General Prosecutor was requested to undertake further investigations into possible abuse of power by two of the suspects, who were previously exempted from criminal responsibility according to the law. Killing of protesters on 19-21 January and 18-20 February 2014 The Office of the General Prosecutor is conducting an investigation into the circumstances of the death four people between 19 and 21 January 2014 and of at least 98 people between 18 and 20 February 2014. So far there has been no significant progress in this investigation. However, the Office of the General Prosecutor expected that the case would be submitted to the court in the nearest future. The Prosecutor’s investigation has found that these crimes were instigated by a group, headed by the then President of Ukraine, Victor Yanukovych, and composed of the highest level officials, including from the law enforcement agencies such as the SBU and special police forces. The Office of the General Prosecutor said that the investigation is complicated by the fact that all members of the group have fled Ukraine and are beyond its jurisdiction. The Government of Ukraine have taken all the necessary procedural steps at the international level to be able to prosecute the suspects. With regard to the actual perpetrators of the crimes, the Office of the General Prosecutor informed the HRMMU that three former servicemen of the Berkut special police force, who are suspected of killing 39 of the 98 protesters who died between 18 and 20 February 2014, were in detention and 24 suspects were put on the wanted list. The Office of the General Prosecutor was expecting to submit materials about these cases to court in the near future. 141 The Law of Ukraine on Elimination of the Adverse Effects and Prevention of Prosecution of Punishment of Individuals with regard to Events which Took Place During peaceful assemblies, adopted on 13 December 2014, was repealed on 21 February 2014. 213 | P a g e