IndyMedia - Vrij Media Centrum Nederland

Wanneer: 03/02/2012 - 09:43

Since 6 January, 58 Somali refugees, amongst them 13 women and 24 minors are on hunger strike in Zhuravychi detention centre near Lutsk, Ukraine. They demand access to asylum procedures and release from detention (for further information seewww.bordermonitoring-ukraine.eu).

On Monday, they were attacked by riot police that was brought into the prison and forced to eat.

So far UNHCR, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Pro Asyl/Germany, Helsinki Committee/Hungary Ukrainian Refugee Council and some MEPs have intervened, until now with little response from the Ukrainian authorities.

Therefore, further action is urgently needed, notably international solidarity and international media coverage are said to make a difference!

We call for pickets and demonstrations outside Ukrainian embassies and consular posts. Preparations are underway for action in London (Moday):
http://www.migrantsrights.org.uk/news/2012/action-committee-calls-suppor...

Please consider whether you can organise some protest, even if only small in your country/city, ideally, next week, 6-11 february. Invite the media to this, demand from the ambassador to relay the concerns and demand of the demonstrators to the authorities in Kiev/Ukraine.

Stop Human Rights Violations of Refugees in Ukraine!
Release hunger striking Somalis from Lutsk Detention!

Please contactcontact@bordermonitoring-ukraine.eu for further questions or with details of your activities.

Border Monitoring Project Ukraine

BORDER MONITORING PROJECT UKRAINE (BMPU) is monitoring the implementation of social and human rights of refugees and other vulnerable migrants in the Border region of the European Union and Ukraine. Members of this common initative are: Bavarian Refugee Council (Munich), Pro Asyl (Frankfurt), no one is illegal (Hanau) and the Centre for Migration, Policy and Society (Oxford). Further partners of the BMP are Helsinki Committee (Budapest) and Human Rights League (Bratislava).