the Office of the Prosecutor General and emphasizes the need for the investigation to be
transparent, comprehensive and timely.
13.
With respect to the incidents that took place in Odesa on 2 May, it should be noted that
six official investigations have been established. The main bodies undertaking such
investigations are the Ministry of Interior (MoI) and the State Security Service in
Ukraine (SBU). It is with regret that the HRMMU reports a lack of cooperation from
both governmental bodies, particularly at the central level with the HRMMU, which has
been preventing the HRMMU from conducting a proper assessment of the progress
made. The HRMMU reiterates the need for prompt and thorough investigations into the
violent incidents on 2 May in Odesa. Some key questions must be addressed to ensure
confidence in the investigation and to guarantee accountability, due process and to
enable the communities to accept fully the results of such an investigation. Among those
questions are the conduct of the police on 2 May: why it, and the fire brigade, either did
not react, or were slow to react; what caused the fire in the Trade Union building; who
are the perpetrators of the killings in the afternoon and the fire in the evening; and what
measures are being taken to guarantee justice for the victims, and due process for the
people detained in connection with these events. Furthermore, the Government must pay
particular attention to ensure social media is not used for hate speech or incitement to
hatred.
14.
A key development during the reporting period was the Presidential election held on 25
May 2014. There were 21 candidates officially on the ballot. On 3 June, the Central
Election Commission (CEC) confirmed that Mr. Petro Poroshenko had won with 54.7%
of the vote. In the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, attacks had taken place every day
during the week preceding the elections and multiplied on election day, with violent
obstruction of polling stations. The pattern of such attacks consisted of representatives
of the “Donetsk People’s Republic” and the “Luhansk People’s Republic” and armed
men entering the premises of the district election commissions, threatening staff and
sometimes beating and/or abducting them, often taking away voters’ lists, computers
and official documents. In some cases, the premises of these commissions were seized
and blocked; others had to close either because they became inoperative, or for security
reasons the staff were frightened to come back. Several attacks against district election
commissions and polling stations were reported just prior to, and on, the election day,
with armed men entering polling stations, forcing them to close and/or destroying or
stealing ballot boxes. These illegal acts prevented many people living in the Donetsk and
Luhansk regions to exercise their right to vote.
15.
Residents of Crimea had to go to mainland Ukraine to vote. The HRMMU monitored
the situation in the Kherson region, where most of the Crimean voters had registered,
and spoke to representatives of the Crimean Tatars. As they crossed the administrative
border by car to go to vote, representatives of “self-defence forces” reportedly recorded
various personal details, including car license plates and passport numbers. The
HRMMU was informed that many Crimean Tatars did not go to vote due to the cost of
travelling, concerns about crossing the administrative border, and fear of reprisals by the
authorities in Crimea.
72 | P a g e
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