UKRAINE
Young communists tortured, face secret trial
By John Catalinotto
In the fall of 2003, 10 members of the Young
Communist League of the Ukraine face a secret trial for alleged
"terrorist activities." While the case has received little
publicity in the West, some progressive forces, including the
International Action Center, have taken it up as a severe
violation of human rights.
Ten of the youths were arrested beginning on Dec. 13, 2002
and over the next two weeks, starting with a raid by Ukrain ian
State Security on a house in the city of Nikolaev. Searches and
arrests followed in Odessa, Kiev and Dnepropetrovsk.
Security agents used explosive devices to blow down the door
in the Nikolaev apartment. According to one report, the fourth
youth there attempted self-defense.
Some of the young communists arrested were involved in
publishing the communist Internet newspaper, Left.ru.
The Ukraine has a right-wing, pro-capitalist government that
has even been trying to join NATO. If it succeeds in this,
Ukrainian youth can become cannon fodder for occupation armies
in Afghanistan and other imperialist-occupied countries.
Living conditions in the Ukraine have deteriorated for the
mass of the population since the collapse of the USSR. This
summer the hot, dry weather has reportedly wiped out up to 75
percent of the summer crops in what was once considered the
bread-basket of the USSR.
Supporters of the young people say torture was used to wring
confessions from them. Some reportedly had ribs and other bones
broken.
One of those arrested, Evgeny Seme nov, was able to get a
letter out of prison last June. He wrote: "Here, in the Odessa
prison, with me there are my nine comrades, arrested and
tortured systematically throughout six months of the
interrogation. Now our case is closed and the trial begins some
time in the fall.
"In order to cover up tortures that we were subjected to,
the Ukrainian Department of Security is planning to keep our
trial secret, with no defense lawyers for us and without the
presence of the public, let alone any journalist or
observer."
Semenov writes that the defendants plan a hunger strike if
the trials are secret.
The defendants and their party are asking that people who
support human rights write letters of protest to the Ukrainian
Parliament-Rada at Kiev- 008, Grushnev skaya Street #5, Litvin
V.M. or email at: www.rada.ua. Other addresses can be found at
Left.ru.
Reprinted from the Sept. 18, 2003, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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