LGBT couple beaten in Odesa

The unknown attacked LGBT activist Ihor Zakharchenko and his partner in Odesa at night.

This is said in the statement of the all-Ukrainian Charitable Organization “Fulcrum.”

Ihor wrote on his Facebook page that he and his partner had been returning from a karaoke club when the unknown persons had attacked them shouting and swearing them. They tore off Ihor’s hood.

According to him, they tried to hide in a shop and call the police, but the hooligans continued to beat them. The police arrived 20 minutes later and arrested the attackers.

Fulcrum organization considers the attack to be a hate crime.

“These crimes tend to increase as the attackers find their actions morally justified. If the society fails to effectively punish and condemn hate crimes, other potential criminals will deem proper to continue their activities,” reads the statement of the organization.

The main department of the National Police in Odesa region confirmed the fact of the attack on two men to the Human Rights Information Center. “At 4 a.m., two unknown persons beat them, trying to take away their things. The police detained the attackers and brought them to the district police station, where they were interviewed. The police also interviewed the applicants. The data under Article 125 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (“intended minor bodily injury”) were entered into the unified register of pre-trial investigations. The offenders were released on personal recognizance. They should appear at the request of the law enforcement officers,” said senior inspector of the press service of the main department of the National Police in Odesa region Anastasia Sira.

As a reminder, recently the Obolonsky District Court of Kyiv resumed consideration of the case over the attack on the Equality March that had taken place on June 6 last year in the capital of Ukraine.

Previously, presenting the organization’s report for 2015, Executive Director of Amnesty International in Ukraine Tetiana Mazur called on the Parliament to adopt the laws protecting the rights of minorities.