A group of four twenty-something men, two of them from an SUV, attacks two other men at a gas station at night for no particular reason. The attackers flash police badges and even Anti-corruption Committee IDs.
Not only do they attack the victims, but they also rob them.
A highway patrol arrives at the scene but, instead of arresting the attackers or requesting backup, simply tries to calm the situation.
On the day after, police reprimand the officers and promise to find the attackers. At the same time, police chiefs meet with the victims in private, promising to punish the officers, not the attackers, in exchange for the surveillance video.
As the story finds its way to Channel 1+1, the victims start getting calls from people who offer them money for refusal to press charges. The attackers hail from “noble families,” they add.
Later, the attackers, whom Ukrainians often refer to as mazhory (rich lawless kids), do the calling themselves. They issue threats of further violence and reassurances of zero jail time.
Channel 1+1 vows to assist the investigation.
P.S. A portrait of Yushchenko can be seen hanging on the police office wall, evoking memories of “The rich will help the poor” and “The bandits will sit in jail,” Yushchenko's 2004 campaign promises.
That's not to mention his party's 2007 parliamentary campaign slogan: “One law for all.”
Is it any coincidence that The Hon. Ihor Zvarych was having sex with a subordinate, one of the many victims of his sexual harassment, during a televised address by President Yushchenko?
So how long before Kyiv has its own gang of Dnipropetrovsk Maniacs?
UPDATE
Now that the whole country, including President Yushchenko, has seen that Channel 1+1 report, police have arrested two of the four attackers: “a student and a loader.”
The other two attackers, the ones who arrived in an SUV, remain at large.
The attackers' stories sound fishy. Attacker 1 says they wanted a “man-to-man fight” but “went a little too far.” Once the highway patrol arrived, they showed them gag-gift “Agent 007” IDs.
Attacker 2 says they wanted to protect a woman from being verbally abused, even though no woman can be seen on the surveillance video.
If convicted, the attackers face up to 5 years in prison. The big question is: Will they be convicted?
Videos uploaded from:
http://censor.net.ua/go/offer/ResourceID/119154.html
http://censor.net.ua/go/offer/ResourceID/119517.html
Original source: http://tsn.ua
Monday, April 13, 2009
Rich Lawless Kids Attack, Police Make No Arrests (Updated)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
I wonder what do these people understand by "anticorruption"...
At least the Bentley-driving jerk in Crimea has finally been charged with what sounds like criminal negligence leading to death. Is it too much to ask for that - if found guilty - he actually does time?
Gabriela,
They could have shown just about any ID that money and connections can buy in this country.
As injustices snowball, sooner or later, society’s reaction will reach a critical mass.
Once the offended majority sets the ball rolling, it will be hard to stop the ball from rolling over the offender minority.
Blair,
I don’t know. In an election year, he’ll probably get some jail time.
The idea is to show some semblance of justice so that it will be “business as usual” after the election.
This is "nobility"?
Boy, is Ukraine ever screwed up.
In England, as elsewhere, although nobles had privileges, they also had corresponding duties.
One of the chief duties was to protect the vassals - not kill them.
"Noblesse oblige" does not mean that a purported "noble" can simply join with his "noble" friends and radomly beat someone up.
I'm not saying that medieval history was pretty.
I am saying that the concept of privileges and duties did not encompass something like this incident.
These guys are the farthest thing from noble you can imagine.
They're just scuzbags and scum.
You are totally right, Taras, and all that hatred is so dangerous...
Elmer,
In Ukraine, we have a case of “noblesse néglige.”
Gabriela,
It’s dangerous indeed. But that’s as good as it gets.
Post a Comment