Dasha Belka Egorova
03.02.2014
Translated by Maria Stanislav
Source: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=585565904861953

Editor’s note: this text is written by Andrew B. Shmyndyuk (b. 08/05/1976) and by his wife Darya Egorova Evhenivna. He wrote, she edited and added to it. It was posted on her Facebook status (as Dasha Belka Egorova). 

There’s word from my beloved, who is currently under investigation. Thanks to our government, he has been badly beaten and arrested.

[Andriy’s letter:]
“This is the second week I’m spending under investigation, featuring in one of the many ‘political’ cases fabricated by our government in an effort to show their voters that anyone disagreeing with the politics of the ruling majority is a bandit and a low-life. However, yet another gimmick of the government against its people proved to be a failure, owing both to the numbskull work of its executors and the unbreakable spirit of the true Sons of Ukraine.

Here, under guard, I met other ‘terrorists’ and ‘organizers of riots’. Their stories might as well have been written by the same hand. People are divided into two groups – ‘insurgents from Hrushevskoho’ and ‘Automaidan’.

The first group covers everyone detained at Hrushevskoho, European Square, or anywhere else in the city, far from the downtown, but wearing a blue and yellow ribbon. There are journalists, photographers, older people over 60, and young boys, caught alone. None of them looks like a terrorist.
‘Automaidan’ includes everyone dragged from their cars in different parts of Kyiv, using a classical framing scheme.

Take, for example, the story of the ‘Yellow Minibus’ stopped at the Kriposny alley (as told by the boys). People were gathered at European Square, invited into the minibus (“let’s go to get some supplies for Maidan”), and taken to a place where Berkut’s [riot police] bus was already waiting, ready to stage a real ‘highway action’ show. The minibus was rammed by another vehicle from the side and from the back, while Berkut officers shot at the wheels until one tire ruptured. The minibus was forced to stop against a fence, where the passengers were thrown outside, beaten, and dragged into the Berkut bus, where, they say, they got a full-scale beating. People screamed in pain, but the Berkut wouldn’t stop. This happened some 500 meters away from the barricade at Institutska Street, from where two dozen fighters from the Maidan guard rushed to help the boys and fell into a trap. Another Berkut squad blocked their way to the bus and, threatening them with firearms (which were demonstrated), took one of them, Dmytro Poltavets, hostage.

The Berkut took their prisoners to Mariyinsky Park, where another savage beating took place – knocked out teeth, cracked skulls, and humiliations. After that, the boys were finally taken to the Obolon district police department and handed over to the authorities.

The boys say they didn’t think they’d live to tell about this. That day, the prisoners saw familiar faces among the Berkut – recognizing those who had walked through the ‘corridor of shame’ [filmed on video by protesters] near the Kyiv Svyatoshyno Court at 109 Peremohy Avenue. In fact, the Berkut officers asked of those whom they were beating up in Mariyinsky Park – ‘which ones of you were at 109 Peremohy?’

My situation is similar to those of the people called ‘Automaidaners’ here. Titushkas [hired thugs] and policemen from the Kyiv Department on Illicit Drug Trafficking (their names are known, but not disclosed yet) staged a fake fight among themselves, to attract the attention of the Automaidan. They were one of the many Automaidan activists who spent many nights patrolling the city to protect the property of Kyivans from being set on fire by the titushkas, delivered into the city [by buses from other areas] to cause chaos.

An unexpected addition to this show was the appearance of some Kyivans, who were driving on Schorsa Street and didn’t hesitate to stop and find out what was going on. The Berkut squad lying in wait had no choice but ‘clean up’ the witnesses from the scene, turn them into accused offenders, and escape with hostages before the arrival of journalists summoned by the residents of the houses nearby. There is word that the locals even filmed a video of this brutal cleanup, where you can see the Berkut battering us and destroying our cars. Had the journalists and Automaidan activists arrived earlier, in time for the fight, even more blood could’ve been spilled, because the Berkut and, later, the investigators, did not hide the fact that the whole event was a frame.

I don’t know the whereabouts of my car – the investigators haven’t informed me of that yet. Witnesses say that the car was demolished – broken windows and headlights, smashed body, cut tires.

Reports of the Berkut officers deserve special note. They state that at the time of arrest, all people detained at Schorsa Street (meaning, us) had bloodied and battered faces and hands. Everyone detained in ‘our’ case are ready to confirm that at the time of being loaded into the Berkut’s bus, our faces were whole and our hands had no signs of fighting. This was reported in the Darnytsa police department, and can still be proven now.

The bus fled Schorsa Street very quickly, trying to shake any possible pursuit – as we could also gather from the talk among the Berkut officers. In the bus, we all got our fair share of beatings, accompanied with comments like, ‘Where’s your “Glory to Ukraine” now?’, ‘go ahead, sing Lenta Za Lentoyu! [a popular Maidan song]’, and threats. A young man who tried saying he’s from Kyiv and unrelated to the Maidan was silenced with a boot to the head. Then we were all told ‘Cut the crap! We know you’re all from Lviv!’.

Some 15 minutes later, the bus entered a fenced-off area, where we were tossed out onto snow-covered concrete, stripped and searched. Our clothes were torn, personal possessions and valuables, taken. That was followed by a long and savage beating and humiliation. In my case, they made a show of trying to break my fingers with boots and truncheons – some of these efforts succeeded. My friend had his hair cut off and stuffed into his mouth. Two more boys, right in front of my eyes, were purposefully kicked in the head by several Berkut officers at once. Later, one of them was hospitalized with multiple jaw fractures and brain hemorrhage, right on the police department premises. Our requests for medical aid only earned more beatings.

This continued for almost half an hour. Then a man, who must’ve studied the documents stolen from us, approached the torturers and yelled, ‘who did you bring here?’. After this, the torture suddenly stopped, we were quickly tossed into the bus and taken somewhere. The bus driver was talking to someone, mentioning a pursuit and then saying, ‘I think we lost them’. Fortunately (I may be jesting now, but it really was a stroke of fortune), we weren’t taken outside the city, but instead delivered to the Darnytsya district police department.
Some of us fainted several times that evening, but no one broke and no one begged for mercy. Our torturers were equally aggravated and frightened by that.

Let me emphasize – when entering the Berkut bus in Schorsa Street, we were whole and undamaged; then we were carried into the Darnytsya police department, beaten and mangled by the Berkut officers.

The time between being detained in Schorsa Street and our arrival to the police department was somewhere around an hour and a half. I don’t think the Berkut can explain why it took that long, in a bus that should’ve covered that distance in 20 minutes. Medical aid was provided another 4 hours later – told that the ambulance was called right away, but all ambulances are tied up ‘with your Maidan’.

When the medics got there, they were told that, regardless of our critical state, we would spend ‘as long as necessary’ in the investigator’s office! I spent 6 hours there. One of the boys was sent straight to the detention facility without any medical attention – the medics were simply denied access to him.

At first, they tried to incriminate us with ‘mass riots’, but the next day, when the investigators saw that the case is falling apart, some ‘injured parties’ appeared in it – policemen and titushkas, and our case became a charge under part 3, Article 296 [of the Criminal Code of Ukraine*].

* Criminal Code of Ukraine, Article 296:
1. Hooliganism, being a gross violation of public order with motives of blatant disrespect to society, done with flagrant audacity and a high degree of cynicism …
3. Actions envisaged by parts 1 and 2 of this Article, if committed by a person previously conviceted of hooliganism, or accompanied by resisting a representative of authority, a community representative acting as a peace officer, or other citizens that tried to prevent hooligan actions, –
are punished by incarceration for a term between two and six years.

The police are obviously scared, the investigators avoid giving comments, possibly executing orders ‘from above’, and frequently ‘losing’ documents. Investigators of the Darnytsya police department denied my and my lawyer’s multiple requests to subject me to medicolegal investigation, as well as refused to accept my statement reporting a stolen car and requesting to be recorded as an injured party (later, I managed to submit this statement to a new investigator).

I hear that the people in power openly refer to us as ‘captives’ and ‘prisoners of the state’, and that the regionals [members of the Party of Regions] want to use us as a bargaining chip, exchanging our fates for the occupied buildings. My personal request of the opposition is – don’t succumb to these provocations. This ‘government’ is not worthy of negotiations and agreements. The regionals have already shown their fear of the people’s anger, and pointed to those they’re the most scared of. These are the Pravy Sector [Right Sector], the Maidan Guard, and Automaidan.

I want to thank you all for your support, especially those of you who aren’t sitting at home in this crucial time, and are unafraid of the government’s provocations.

Ukrainians are people of will, and no one can ever bring us to our knees!

GLORY TO UKRAINE!

Andriy”

[Dasha:]
On my part, I’d like to add that I wouldn’t wish this fate and these beatings even on an enemy and their family. Not everyone can understand what it’s like to see the one you love battered, covered in blood, beaten to a pulp!

Not everyone can listen to a litany of false accusations and understand that he can barely stand, and yet he’s looking at 2 months of detention right away, and possibly 2 to 6 years in prison next! WHAT FOR? Just for being nearby, at the wrong place in the wrong time. I’d laugh if I weren’t crying. Government? What government? This is anarchy, this is a tragicomedy of God knows how many acts. This is a nightmare from which I hope to wake soon.

I want this message to be seen – by the government, the opposition, by everyone. I want innocent people to go free, I want this nightmare to be over, I want to see my love come back home and hold him, I want all those arrested boys to come back to their homes and families… I want the guilty punished, and I want to thank God. For being Ukrainian, for being able to be proud of my people, my truly unbreakable people!

Glory to Ukraine!
ADDENDUM/FOLLOW UP TO THIS STORY:

Dasha Belka Egorova
05.02.2014
Translated by Maria Stanislav
Source: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=587164901368720

Our tragicomedy continues…

Our [Andriy’s] appeal hearing was moved from today (05.02.2014) to 14.02.2014, due to the fact that the judge is… unaware of the detainee’s location! No words left, just hysterical laughter. In the Investigation Department of the MDMIA [Main Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs] of Ukraine in Kyiv and Kyiv Region, at least five investigators know that he’s in the Emergency Hospital [Kyiv Municipal Clinical Emergency Hospital], injured, kept in the guarded ward, under lock and key. There’s a paper from the hospital to prove this, there’s his patient history, there’s a guard detail of at least 15 men, regularly relieved. This means that some 50 people know where Andriy is. That’s not even counting the people’s deputies, journalists and volunteers. But, no – the court is entirely unaware.

I’m laughing again, sliding down a wall from exhaustion, injustice and the sheer absurdity of this all.

What hurts the most about this situation, is that there’s no point in shouting – no one will hear. No point in trying to prove anything – all proof of innocence is right there, but no one cares. And when I say ‘no one’, I mean the government.

Two things I want most:

1) to make this known to as many people as possible (friends, acquaintances, media, deputies), so please repost this;

2) to bring my love home, soon, PLEASE!