Case History: Konstantin Reutski
On 29 January 2015, at approximatively 10pm, the car of Konstantin Reutski was stopped by road police officers while entering Kharkiv crossing a checkpoint near Pisochin. Police officers asked Konstantin Reutski and journalists Ms Anastasia Stanko and Mr Paweł Pieniążek, who were in the car with him, to exit the vehicle, and proceeded with a search of the car. The alleged reason for the search was that the vehicle carried a license plate from Luhansk (newly proclaimed separatist republic). Konstantin Reutski and the journalists explained the reason of their presence in the ATO area, and that Konstantin Reutski is accredited in the ATO press centre.
Konstantin Reutski is chairman of the Human Rights Centre "Postup" (Path), and a journalist with online media outlet informator.lg.ua and with Gromadske TV. He routinely covers events in the area concerned by Ukraine's anti-terrorist operation (ATO) and documents human rights violations in the region.
On 29 January 2015, human rights defender Mr Konstantin Reutski was beaten by road police officers at the check point Pisochin in the Kharkiv region.
On 29 January 2015, at approximatively 10pm, the car of Konstantin Reutski was stopped by road police officers while entering Kharkiv crossing a checkpoint near Pisochin. Police officers asked Konstantin Reutski and journalists Ms Anastasia Stanko and Mr Paweł Pieniążek, who were in the car with him, to exit the vehicle, and proceeded with a search of the car. The alleged reason for the search was that the vehicle carried a license plate from Luhansk (newly proclaimed separatist republic). Konstantin Reutski and the journalists explained the reason of their presence in the ATO area, and that Konstantin Reutski is accredited in the ATO press centre.
The police officers refused to identify themselves, and Konstantin Reutski demanded that they respect applicable legal procedures. As a verbal confrontation ensued, the human rights defender started to film the search. The officers reportedly grabbed his camera and hit Konstantin Reutski repeatedly. They confiscated the camera, which contained materials from Debaltsevo, Popasnaya and Mariupol, where fighting has taken place in recent days. The journalists accompanying Konstantin Reutski called the police. Officers from the Lubotyn police department arrived a hour later and the human rights defender lodged a complaint about the incident and the confiscation of the video camera. The camera was later found without the memory card.
The following day, 30 January, the Department of the Ministry of Interior for the Kharkiv region published a statement on the events. According to the statement: “the driver [Konstantin Reutski] attempted to take something from his pocket, to which police officers quickly reacted by blocking his movements. The man considered the move as a possible attack against him, so he fell on the ground, and police officers tried to help him to get up and to offer necessary assistance”. The statement went on to say that the police officers involved in the incident had been suspended until the end of the investigation.
