âMoscow - Arab Today
Ukraine's protest movement
Moscow - Arab Today
A Ukrainian court ruled to place in pretrial custody five men, accused of beating up a prominent Ukrainian female investigative journalist and activist. Tatiana Chornovil was driving home when she noticed she was being followed by
a dark-colored SUV, Ukrainian police said.
The car cut off Chornovil's vehicle and forced her off the side of the road, after which several men jumped out and smashed the journalist's rear car window, according to Russia's News Agency (RIA Novosti).
Police said the men dragged Chornovil out of her car and brutally beat her before abandoning her in a ditch.
Chernovol, an investigative journalist, blogger and mother of two children, had posted photos of what she alleged was the Ukrainian interior minister's luxury villa on local web portal Ukrainskaya Pravda hours before the attack.
She also regularly reported on the development of Ukraine's protest movement that emerged at the end of November after the president suddenly backed out of an association agreement with the European Union, and openly supported the country's political opposition, RIA Novosti said.
Ukrainian police have initially opened a criminal investigation into the incident for hooliganism, which is punishable by up to four years in prison under Ukrainian law. However, harsher charges of inflicting grievous bodily harm were added later.
Source: QNA