The organiser of a Ukrainian Pride event has been beaten up by more than 10 people in a brutal attack that left him in hospital. Boris Zolotchenko, the head of Kryvbas Pride 2018, was left hurt and scared by the ambush, which took place just weeks ahead of the three-day festival. He called the police, only to be told that no officer would be coming to help.
Ukraine has seen a surge of anti-LGBT sentiment in 2018, with 23,000 people signing a petition asking for a “gay propaganda” law which called same-sex adoption “an act of violence against these children.”
The law was stopped from coming to fruition by the country’s anti-discrimination Ombudsman, but LGBT people have still suffered attacks, with one LGBT activist in Uzhgorod reportedly receiving an eye burn in one such incident in March.
But despite the attack – the second he has suffered this year, and one which left him bleeding – the organiser said he wanted to stand by the Pride event’s slogan of “I refuse to be afraid!”
He told Gay Ukraine Alliance: “I’m more and more convinced that the March of Equality needs to be carried out. “We must show powerful people and society that security and equality must be accessible to all citizens of Ukraine,” he added. Read more via Pink News
RFSL urges the Ukrainian authorities to investigate attack on activist
RFSL, the Swedish Federation for LGBTQ Rights, urges the Ukrainian authorities to investigate the attack on a LGBTQI activist and chair of the of Kryvbas Pride Festival organizational committee, Boris Zolotchenko.
RFSL, the Swedish Federation for LGBTQ Rights, urges the Ukrainian authorities to investigate the attack on a LGBTQI activist and chair of the of Kryvbas Pride Festival organizational committee, Boris Zolotchenko.
On the evening of June 30, Zolotchenko was assaulted by 10-12 young men, in front of the main building of Kryvyj Rih Pedagogical University. The eye witnesses immediately notified the police, however, according to the victim, the law enforcers refused to arrive to the crime scene and stated that all the witnesses would be questioned directly at the police station. Despite the fact that the police failed to take his statement immediately after the assault, Zolotchenko filed a complaint at the district police station on July 1st.
“We urge the Ukrainian authorities to investigate this and similar cases, bringing perpetrators to justice and countering the sense of impunity that is now spreading through Ukraine, states Marie Månson, Director of international programs at RFSL. ”It is alarming, that this is a second case of assault against Boris Zolotchenko this year. In January, 2018 a similar case was closed by the police due to alleged lack of suspects.” Read more via RFSL