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| Ukrainian protester says he was kidnapped and tortured | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A Ukrainian opposition activist who went missing last week has been found covered in blood, saying he was kidnapped and tortured. | A Ukrainian opposition activist who went missing last week has been found covered in blood, saying he was kidnapped and tortured. |
| Dmytro Bulatov, 35, part of a group of car owners that has taken part in the protests against President Viktor Yanukovych, went missing on 22 January . | Dmytro Bulatov, 35, part of a group of car owners that has taken part in the protests against President Viktor Yanukovych, went missing on 22 January . |
| Bulatov was discovered in a village near Kiev late on Thursday. He said his kidnappers beat him severely, nailed him to a cross, sliced off a piece of ear and cut his face. He was kept in the dark all the time and could not identify the kidnappers, but told a Ukrainian TV channel that they had Russian accents. | Bulatov was discovered in a village near Kiev late on Thursday. He said his kidnappers beat him severely, nailed him to a cross, sliced off a piece of ear and cut his face. He was kept in the dark all the time and could not identify the kidnappers, but told a Ukrainian TV channel that they had Russian accents. |
| After more than a week of beatings, they eventually dumped him in a forest. | After more than a week of beatings, they eventually dumped him in a forest. |
| "They crucified me, they nailed down my hands … There isn't a spot on my body that hasn't been beaten," Bulatov said on Channel 5 television. "Thank God, I am alive." | "They crucified me, they nailed down my hands … There isn't a spot on my body that hasn't been beaten," Bulatov said on Channel 5 television. "Thank God, I am alive." |
| Bulatov's face and clothes were covered in clotted blood, and his hands were swollen and bore the marks of nails. | Bulatov's face and clothes were covered in clotted blood, and his hands were swollen and bore the marks of nails. |
| Police said they have opened an investigation and said the car he was driving when he disappeared had been found. | Police said they have opened an investigation and said the car he was driving when he disappeared had been found. |
| "What happened to Dmytro is an act of intimidation to all the protesters," said opposition leader Vitali Klitschko after visiting Bulatov at a Kiev hospital, where the activist is now recovering. | "What happened to Dmytro is an act of intimidation to all the protesters," said opposition leader Vitali Klitschko after visiting Bulatov at a Kiev hospital, where the activist is now recovering. |
| This case is reminiscent of the abduction of two other activists – Igor Lutsenko and Yuri Verbytsky – who were kidnapped from a hospital last week. Lutsenko said both men were driven to a forest where they were interrogated and beaten. Lutsenko managed to crawl out of the forest and make it to a hospital. Verbytsky was later found dead in the forest, his hands tied behind his back and a bag on his head. | This case is reminiscent of the abduction of two other activists – Igor Lutsenko and Yuri Verbytsky – who were kidnapped from a hospital last week. Lutsenko said both men were driven to a forest where they were interrogated and beaten. Lutsenko managed to crawl out of the forest and make it to a hospital. Verbytsky was later found dead in the forest, his hands tied behind his back and a bag on his head. |
| "They behaved during the interrogation like people who have been doing this for many years," Lutsenko said last week about the men who captured and tortured him. | "They behaved during the interrogation like people who have been doing this for many years," Lutsenko said last week about the men who captured and tortured him. |
| The protests in Ukraine started after Yanukovych backed out of an agreement to deepen ties with the European Union, but the demonstrations quickly came to encompass an array of discontent over corruption, heavy-handed police and a dubious justice system. | The protests in Ukraine started after Yanukovych backed out of an agreement to deepen ties with the European Union, but the demonstrations quickly came to encompass an array of discontent over corruption, heavy-handed police and a dubious justice system. |
| Yanukovych on Friday signed into law an amnesty for those detained during the unrest and approved the repeal of anti-protest legislation. Demonstrators have rejected the amnesty because it is conditional on occupied buildings being cleared of activists. | |
| Earlier on Friday John Kerry, the US secretary of state, said that overtures by Yanukovych to the opposition have not been enough to resolve the crisis. | |
| Kerry, who is set to meet key opposition figures including Arseny Yatsenyuk and Klitschko on the sidelines of a security conference starting in Munich on Friday, told a news conference: "The offers of President Yanukovych have not yet reached an adequate level of reform and an adequate level of sharing of the future so that the opposition can, in fact, feel that it can legitimately come to the table." | |
| But he added that if the government presents a reform agenda offering "genuine participation" then the opposition should seize the opportunity "because further violence that goes out of control is not in anybody's interest". | |
| On Thursday, Yanukovych accused the opposition of escalating the situation, and insisted his government was doing all it could to solve the crisis. | On Thursday, Yanukovych accused the opposition of escalating the situation, and insisted his government was doing all it could to solve the crisis. |
| His defiant statement followed an announcement that he is taking sick leave due to an acute respiratory illness and high fever. | |
| Yanukovych accused the opposition of "continuing to whip up the situation, calling on people to stand in the cold for the sake of the political ambitions of a few leaders". | Yanukovych accused the opposition of "continuing to whip up the situation, calling on people to stand in the cold for the sake of the political ambitions of a few leaders". |
| His illness is another unpredictable element in Ukraine's already combustible political drama. His predecessor, Viktor Yushchenko, fell ill in 2004 after apparently being poisoned with dioxin, while standing against Russian-backed Yanukovych in the presidential election. | His illness is another unpredictable element in Ukraine's already combustible political drama. His predecessor, Viktor Yushchenko, fell ill in 2004 after apparently being poisoned with dioxin, while standing against Russian-backed Yanukovych in the presidential election. |
| Ukraine's political uprising began more than two months ago as a pro-European movement after Yanukovych rejected an integration pact with the European Union. Instead he accepted a $15bn (£9bn) bailout from Russia. The Kremlin has now said it may fail to pay the loan in full if the government in Kiev changes. | Ukraine's political uprising began more than two months ago as a pro-European movement after Yanukovych rejected an integration pact with the European Union. Instead he accepted a $15bn (£9bn) bailout from Russia. The Kremlin has now said it may fail to pay the loan in full if the government in Kiev changes. |
| The protests have since spread across much of the country, and have turned into a highly personal campaign to topple Yanukovych. Radical groups clashed with the police last week, with at least three civilians killed. | The protests have since spread across much of the country, and have turned into a highly personal campaign to topple Yanukovych. Radical groups clashed with the police last week, with at least three civilians killed. |
| Read more | Read more |
| Editorial: Yanukovych's position has weakened considerably | Editorial: Yanukovych's position has weakened considerably |
| Seumas Milne: fascists, oligarchs and western expansion at heart of crisis | Seumas Milne: fascists, oligarchs and western expansion at heart of crisis |