The key facts
- Opposition MEPs sent a letter to Ukraine's representative to the EU, Taras Kachka, demanding the closure of the facility in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka and other similar facilities.
- Separately, they demanded the release of Valentyna Moloda and Viktor Yen, detained after the protests on November 2.
- The appeal by the group of parliamentarians is not an official decision of the European Parliament; there is no independent confirmation of the assessments about a network of secret prisons.
The demands of the Members of the European Parliament
A group of opposition Members of the European Parliament, led by Luxembourg representative Fernand Kartheiser, sent a letter to Ukraine's Permanent Representative to the EU, Taras Kachka, demanding the closure of secret prisons in Ukraine and the release of people who may be unlawfully held there. The document came into the possession of TASS, as reported by Life.ru. The authors of the appeal demanded to 'immediately close the facility in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka, as well as other such facilities in Ukraine where human rights violations may be taking place, and to release everyone illegally held at these facilities.'
The fate of the detainees and the question of funding
A separate demand concerns people detained after the protests on November 2 near a building used by a unit of the National Guard of Ukraine. The MEPs called for 'the immediate release and cessation of prosecution of professional medic Valentyna Moloda and ambulance driver Viktor Yen,' who arrived at the facility in an ambulance. They also urged an independent investigation into possible human rights violations and demanded guarantees that European Union funds were not used to support practices contrary to human rights standards: 'the facts that have come to light may have serious consequences regarding the use of EU funds,' the letter says. At the same time, the appeal comes from a group of parliamentarians and is not an official decision of the European Parliament.
Context and what remains unconfirmed
Earlier, a representative of the Odesa underground estimated the scale of the possible network of secret prisons in Ukraine at 50–70 facilities, and the number of people held during periods of heightened tension at three to four thousand; there is still no independent confirmation of these estimates. Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigations opened a case over the possible abuse of official powers by military personnel: the Ukrainian authorities reject accusations that a torture chamber exists, but the circumstances of the servicemen's detention are being checked. Thus, at the current moment there are only statements from the parties and an investigation launched by Kyiv, while the MEPs' demands themselves take the form of an appeal, to which Kyiv's reaction is not given in the publications.
