Letter from Dnepropetrovsk
February 1, 2014, 19:44
Source: https://www.facebook.com/evgeny.gendin/posts/828108547214748

This is a letter from the wife of one of the people arrested in Dnepropetrovsk on January 26, 2014

Greetings!

I want to inform everyone, so that they would know what is happening with people who have been arrested. On January 26th in Dnepropetrovsk at a meeting around the Administration building, my husband, Konstantin Pegar’kov (31 years old, a type 1 diabetic in the 3rd disability group), was arrested. He had not engaged in any illegal activities, he simply shouted “Glory to Ukraine”. The Berkut riot police beat him on the head with clubs and dragged into the administration building. There were about 50 Berkut troops and somewhere around 30-40 “titushki” (hired thugs). They began cruelly tormenting him, hitting him around the kidneys and the legs, stomping on his hands. Then they brought in more guys who had been arrested. They threw everyone into a puddle left from the high pressure hoses and began to have fun — the VERMINS were gouging people’s eyes, tearing their mouths, continued to beat people while forcing them to smile and shooting it all on cameras and telephones. After the “boys” had their fun, my husband was brought to the Babushkinskaya police station. He had his passport with him which included a certificate showing that he was a diabetic and disabled, but that was not enough to stop these beasts. Late in the evening they allowed him to make one call from which we learned that they had seized everyone in sight (there were people with him who had done absolutely nothing wrong), that he had been badly beaten and was at the police station, that an interrogation was about to begin and they would be taking his personal possessions. After that his telephone was turned off and there was no more communication from him. Mama went to the police station and by hook or by crook was able to pass on to him insulin and a little bit of food. At approximately 1:30 am I received a call from the Police inspector Kirichataya who requested that I send her by e–mail our children’s birth certificates. She told me that Kostya was being held at the scene of the crime and was charged under article 294, section 1 bringing incarceration of from 5 to 8 years, and that they were trying to arrange for house arrest. Having read this article we all felt sick. She also reported that they were about to go the court for sentencing. At that moment an ambulance crew had been called to give Kostya an insulin injection. The doctor who went out on the call confirmed that my husband was in very bad condition and that after such a beating a coma or stroke could come on at any minute, but again, this did not stop anyone. The court ran from 3am to 11am. In the morning, around 11am a man called me and in a horrible voice announced that Konstantin had been sentenced to 2 months of preliminary detention, with final verdict to be handed down later, and that they were being taken to the detention cells at Chicherina street. He also brought a silver chain with a cross and gave it to Mama at the Babubushkin police station without coming out to talk. No one gave us any help anywhere. All the party offices were closed, the telephones were blocked or not being answered. The lawyer we were referred to asked an enormous fee for his services to the point where we would have had to sell our apartment. We were advised to turn to the Euromaidan hotline in Kiev (0633379573). We called there and explained the situation and after a few hours a lawyer contacted us and offered help for free. On January 28th we met with this lawyer and gave him a packet of documents to submit an appeal. We got journalists from Dnepropetrovsk channel 11 involved, information about my husband went on the air and later there was a broadcast on Radio Liberty. The journalists and lawyers were not allowed to see the prisoners in the detention cells, and no one knew what was happening with them. It was only on the 4th day, the 30th, that we were able to get into the prison and pass on food and medicine. On the 31st when we brought a package, they said, “wait, he’s going to be released now under a personal guarantee.” It turned out that at the police station they had all been given a free lawyer who filed an appeal before our lawyer. The policemen drove him home in a car and they also carried out a search of the apartment with the permission of the court. Thank God, they didn’t plant anything.

Now, about the stay in the detention cell. The cell was cold. The guys who were with him helped him in every way with clothes (he was soaking wet), medicine and food — God bless them. The doctor did not examine him; he gave himself insulin shots. During the first night he had a strong seizure — blood sugar plummeted and he couldn’t speak. The guys called the doctor, who didn’t even enter the cell — he just yelled at the window to give him more bread and sweet tea. Policemen constantly came in showing him photos of people to be identified. All the parts of his body were thoroughly photographed, all the bruises, scrapes, etc.

At the present time, my husband’s telephone and his documents are located in the Babushkin police station. The terms of his punishment have not been changed. Due to the state of his health, my husband now needs hospitalization.