Kokhanovska's kidnappers turn out to be policemen

The believers are trying to stop the car in which they believe Kokhanovska was. Photo: UOJ

Late in the evening of April 19, 2023, it turned out that human rights activist Viktoria Kokhanovska, who was abducted by unknown persons at the entrance to the Lower Lavra, was in the Pechersk Police Department. Archpriest Nikita Chekman, the lawyer of the Lavra, announced this on his telegram channel.

First, he wrote that Kokhanovska “was detained in accordance with Art. 208 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine for hooliganism”, but later added that Kokhanovska and three other persons were informed of suspicion under Part 3 of Article 296 of the CCU.

The Criminal Code of Ukraine provides for imprisonment for up to 5 years as a punishment under this article:

“Actions provided for in parts one or two of this article (hooliganism, that is, a gross violation of public order based on explicit disrespect for society, accompanied by special audacity or exceptional cynicism), if they were committed by a person previously convicted of hooliganism or related to resistance to a state agent or a public agent performing the duties of protecting public order, or other citizens who stop hooligan actions, are punishable by imprisonment for a term of two to five years.”

After Kochanovska's abduction, a video from the scene emerged featuring several men dragging the human rights activist on the ground, pushing her into a police car and taking her away.

Recall that at about 20:30 on April 19, unknown persons abducted Viktoria Kokhanovska. On the video broadcast on Facebook, which was conducted at that moment by Kokhanovska, she can be heard screaming at the moment of the abduction, then falling silent. On the ongoing recording, one of the kidnappers says, “She (Kokhanovska – Ed.) began fighting back, so I pulled her. She pretended to have fainted away there. I pushed her into the f*cking car, and we’re on our way.”

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