High-profile Ukraine men accused of raping, burning woman alive
MOSCOW - Hurriyet.com.tr
FEMEN activists staged a protest in Kiev to call authorities to act on Oxana Makar's case. REUTERS photo
Three Ukrainians have been accused of raping, attempting to strangle and burning a young woman alive in the Ukrainian town of Nikolayev, Hürriyet reported on its website today.Two of the suspects were sons of Ukrainian officials, one being Maxim Prisyjnikov, 23, the son of the regional administrator, and the other Artyon Pogosyan, 21, the son of the regional prosecutor. The third suspect was their friend, 23-year-old Yevgeniy Krasnoshek.
It was claimed that the trio met 18-year-old Oxana Makar at a café and invited her to a house party. They allegedly raped Makar after taking her home; after becoming aware of the crime they had allegedly committed, the suspects allegedly panicked and strangled Makar with an electrical wire.
The suspects waited for an hour before being convinced that Makar was dead and took her body to a construction site. There they allegedly wrapped her body in a blanket, poured gasoline on her and set her on fire.
Makar was found conscious by the police the next day after locals heard her moans. She was burned beyond recognition with bones on one of her hands molten due to heat, the report said.
The victim told police the names of her assailants as she could still talk. Police promptly apprehended the three suspects but they were released only two hours later due to "lack of evidence." It was claimed the suspects' fathers pressured the local authorities into releasing their sons and their friend.
The release of the suspects caused an uproar among Nikolayev residents, who took to the streets and surrounded the prosecutor’s office.
President steps in
The increasing public disturbance in Nikolayev caused Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych to step in and order the arrest of the suspects. Prosecutors from Ukraine public prosecutor's office were dispatched to Nikolayev to investigate the incident.
Ukrainian Interior Minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko said "two of those who committed this horrendous crime were sons of high-ranking officials, which we call 'golden youth.' They will be punished with the heaviest means possible by law."
The children of top-ranking civil servants are called "golden youth" in Ukraine.
Organs failing
Makar remains in critical condition in Nikolayev, the report said. One of her hands and her feet were amputated due to gangrene as her internal organs failed one by one.
Doctors said the victim was suffering from poisoning and that her kidneys and liver had stopped working.
A country-wide donation campaign was launched to help Makar receive better treatment.
