A leading activist in Ukraine’s street opposition who vanished for eight days says he was abducted and tortured before being left to die in the cold. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25977113
Dmytro Bulatov, who organised car protests for the opposition camped out in Kiev, is being treated in hospital after being found near the capital.
Mr Bulatov says he was left to die by his captors after being kidnapped, repeatedly beaten and “crucified”. He was, he said, hung up by his wrists.
“They crucified me, so there are holes in my hands now,” he said.
“Other than that – they cut off my ear, cut up my face. My whole body is a mess. You can see everything. I am alive. Thank God for this.”
The activist reportedly said he did not know who had abducted him but his abductors had spoken with Russian accents.
According to the Ukrainian news website Gazeta.ua, doctors found no damage to his internal organs or his skull.
Police have opened an investigation and posted guards at the hospital where he is being treated.
According to the paper, they also expressed indignation that Mr Bulatov had not phoned them after his release.
Mr Bulatov is a prominent anti-government activist and one of the leaders of the organisation AutoMaidan, which has patrolled streets around Independence Square.
Amnesty International described Mr Bulatov’s ordeal as a “barbaric act which must be investigated immediately”.
Reaction to news of his ordeal among opposition supporters and journalists was furious, with one journalist, Vitaly Portnikov, suggesting “death squads” were operating in Ukraine.
Demonstrators accuse the security forces of being behind the abductions and brutality towards protesters.