Ukrainian activist, former political prisoner, says he was beaten at Kyiv recruitment center
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Volodymyr Balukh, a political activist and former political prisoner, was reportedly beaten at a military recruitment center in Kyiv, officials and media reported March 20.
Member of Parliament Volodymyr Ariev reported the incident on social media and was later cited by fellow lawmaker Sofia Fedyna. Both lawmakers said the beating may have been politically motivated, and Ariev criticized what he described as the recruitment center's "mobilization measures."
Balukh is a former Kremlin-held political prisoner who took part in pro-Ukrainian activism and resistance in Russian-occupied Crimea. Russian occupation authorities detained him in December 2016 on charges of illegally storing and carrying firearms and ammunition, and he was later sentenced to nearly four years in a penal colony. He was released in September 2019 as part of a prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia.
In a comment to Suspilne, Balukh, who has a disability, said he suffered bruising to his chest and shoulder and was pushed into a van by men in military uniforms before being taken to the recruitment center.
Police said they are investigating the reported beating, while the Kyiv City Territorial Center for Recruiting and Social Support denied wrongdoing by its employees and said it had launched an internal investigation.
In a statement, the recruitment center said Balukh had been brought in as a "violator of military registration" and that "no illegal actions were taken against him by military personnel, and no physical force or means of restraint were used."
The center added that it had opened "an official investigation to comprehensively clarify the circumstances."
