“Silence Kills” in Uzhgorod

On September 27, the "Silence Kills" campaign organized by the Foundation for the Development of Initiatives (FRI) took place on Teatralna Square in Uzhgorod. Several activists were standing with posters "Why does the police not guarantee safety?", "Silence kills". Nearby, several policemen were standing by the puppet theater. The purpose of the campaign was to urge law enforcement to investigate the attacks on activists. This year, there have been more than 50 attacks in Ukraine, and the persons responsible for them were never found.

In Uzhgorod, there have been two attacks, and more than 10 people suffered as a result. This numbers were presented by Anastasia Bachynska, a human rights defender. The most widely-publicized one happened this year on March 8 on Teatralna Square in the regional center during the peaceful campaign "March 8. For women’s rights". Then, the participants were attacked by unknown persons, who poured paint on them. They suffered eye burns.

On the same day, similar campaigns took place in Lviv, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhya, Dnipro, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kropyvnytsky, Severodonetsk, Ternopil, Chernihiv, Vinnytsia. In the capital, on Bankova street, representatives of civil society organizations and political parties held a peaceful campaign "Night on Bankova". There were activists and their friends who have been victims of attacks. The day before, representatives of about 50 public organizations signed an open statement in which they demanded prompt and efficient investigation of the attacks by the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Security Service of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Photos by the author