Several hundreds of people have gathered outside the Ukrainian Interior Ministry headquarters after the death of an anti-corruption activist who was attacked with acid three months ago. Kateryna Handziuk died on Sunday in a hospital where she was being treated for burns from the July 31 attack.
Police detained five people in the case, including the alleged assailant. They have not identified anyone suspected of ordering the attack on Handziuk, who was an aide to the mayor of the city of Kherson as well as an activist.
The people honoring Handziuk on Sunday called for intensified efforts to find those responsible. Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko said in August that separatist organizations were believed to have been involved, with the aim of destabilizing southern Ukraine. Kherson is a significant port city.
An earlier article by VOA – ENGLISH about Kateryna Handziuk’s passing:
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is demanding police find and punish the killers of anti-corruption activist Kateryna Handziuk. Handziuk died Sunday, three months after she was severely burned in an acid attack. She underwent 11 operations after the attack.
“I want to address the law enforcement bodies so that they do everything possible to find the murderers, to punish them, and put them on the defendants’ bench,” Poroshenko said shortly after getting the news of Handziuk’s death.
Police have the alleged attacker in custody, but they still do not know who ordered the attack. Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko initially said the attack was the work of separatists, but the investigation continues.
The 33 year-old Handziuk was a senior official and anti-corruption activist in the major southern port of Kherson. Hundreds gathered outside the interior ministry in Kiyv Sunday in her memory.
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