MINELRES: ERRC Legal Action in Ukraine Arson Killing

[European Roma Rights Center]

ERRC Legal Action in Ukraine Arson Killing

On June 30, 2003, the European Roma Rights Center filed an application with 
the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg against the Republic of 
Ukraine relating to an arson attack which resulted in the horrendous death 
of an entire Romani family and the destruction of their home in the village 
of Malaya Kahnivka, Kremenchuk area, Central Ukraine.  The application 
asserts violations of Article 2 (right to life), Article 3 (freedom from 
torture and inhuman and degrading treatment), Article 8 (right to family 
life), Article 1 of Protocol 1 (peaceful enjoyment of possessions), Article 
13 (lack of an effective domestic remedy) and Article 14 (discrimination) 
of the European Convention on Human Rights.

According to Mr. Jurij Fedorchenko's testimony, at approximately 7:30 AM on 
October 28, 2002, he was leaving his house while the rest of the family was 
sleeping. When he opened the door, three men were standing there, including 
Police Major Ivanov of the Kryukov area Police Department and two others he 
did not know. The three men shoved Federchenko inside, sprinkled a 
flammable liquid throughout the house, and set it on fire.  They then fled, 
barring the door from the outside. Shortly afterwards, there was a large 
explosion, blowing both the door and Fedorchenko outside. The attack was in 
alleged retaliation for failing to pay a bribe to the police.

Five members of the Fedorchenko family were admitted to hospital in Malaya 
Kahnivka, suffering from extensive burns and smoke inhalation. Zukhra 
Fedorchenko (21), mother of 3 children, suffered burns to her respiratory 
tract as well as to 65 percent of her body.  She died two days later.  Her 
two children, 6-year-old Snezhana Fedorchenko and 3-year-old Misha 
Fedorchenko, suffered burns to 100 percent and 80 percent of their bodies, 
respectively.   Snezhana died 40 minutes after arrival; Misha died the next 
day.  Two other family members - 25-year-old Vladimir Fedorchenko, Zukhra's 
husband, and their 6-year-old son Jura - were found dead in the house. 
Zukhra's brother, 15-year-old Takhar, suffered burns to 70% of his body, 
and 50-year-old Jurij Fedorchenko suffered burns to 18% of his body, but 
both survived.

In the weeks following the incident, both prosecutorial officials and the 
media reportedly denied any police involvement in the arson, despite the 
fact that Jurij Fedorchenko himself witnessed the attack on his home and 
identified Major Ivanov as one of the perpetrators.  Prosecutors claimed 
the allegation did not warrant further investigation because Ivanov had 
provided an alibi - he claimed to have been shopping with his wife. Local 
counsel filed several complaints with the prosecution authorities asking 
them to investigate  Ivanov's involvement in the arson attack. Despite 
frequent appeals from the lawyer and Fedorchenko's identification of 
Ivanov  in a line-up,  the Ukrainian prosecuting authorities have failed to 
take any concrete steps to further investigate or charge Ivanov.   In view 
of this ongoing refusal to prosecute, the Fedorchenko family has turned to 
Strasbourg for relief.

"Unless investigators and prosecutors in Ukraine start to treat these 
incidents as the serious human rights violations that they are, we will 
have no option but to seek justice before international tribunals," said 
ERRC Legal Director Jean Garland.

For further details on ERRC action in the case, please contact
Mr Andi Dobrushi, staff attorney at the European Roma Rights Center, at:
andi@errc.org. Further information on the human rights situation of Roma in 
Ukraine is available on the ERRC internet website at: 
http://errc.org/publications/indices/ukraine.shtml

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The European Roma Rights Center is an international public interest law
organisation which monitors the rights of Roma and provides legal defence
in cases of human rights abuse. For more information about the European
Roma Rights Center, visit the ERRC on the web at http://www.errc.org.

European Roma Rights Center
1386 Budapest 62
P.O. Box 906/93
Hungary


Phone: +36 1 4132200
Fax:   +36 1 4132201

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