Journalists' investigation into Denisova has provoked mixed reactions online.
Terrible specific stories of sexual violence of Russian invaders against citizens in the occupied territories, which were voiced by Ombudsman Lyudmila Denisova in March-May, have not yet been confirmed by law enforcement or journalists. According to the investigation conducted by Ukrayinska Pravda, despite the huge work done in this direction by the Ombudsman's Office, Denisova herself, in cooperation with her daughter Oleksandra Kvitko, was able to produce information fakes.
This investigation has the right to life, as it should in any free democratic society. Although the network is already spreading a wave of outrage, with facts that, in turn, refute the investigation itself.
As an example, we can cite the publication of blogger Danylo Mokryk, who insists that personally deals with the history of women who were sexually abused in the occupied Kherson region. These cases were also the subject of attention of the ombudswoman Denisova.
After criticism from the media community, Ukrayinska Pravda even changed the title of the article. Yes, instead of “From facebook to interrogations. How the ombudswoman Denisova invented the crimes of the Russians and lost her job “The material is now called” From Facebook to interrogation. Why did the ombudsman lose her position? ”
However, in principle, the UE journalists who conducted the investigation remained on their own. In particular, talking about the last months of work in the position of now exombusman Lyudmila Denisova, they cite the following facts.
During February-May, according to official data, the Ombudsman's Office received calls from 50,000 people. Evidence of crimes was regularly passed to law enforcement, comparing their statistics with them.
As of the end of June, police have launched an investigation into 20 cases of sexual violence in Ukraine by the Russian occupiers.
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However, at the end of March, the then-current ombudswoman Lyudmila Denisova decided to launch an additional hotline. On April 1, he received a phone call for psychological help. It was officially presented as a UNICEF-supported project.
This line was headed by Oleksandra Kvitko, who later became the daughter of Ombudsman Denisova.
In fact, Denisova, using state powers, provided her daughter with a job during the war. Formally, there was no conflict of interest. The family managed to avoid it due to the fact that Kvitko received a contract with UNICEF, and not a position under Denisova.
“Kvitko's line” differed significantly from all other work of the Office. Mainly – opacity. In particular, the question of whether there are specialists in nature who worked on this line is still unclear. It was stated that 5 professional psychologists work on the line.
But it was after this line began to work that stories began to appear that filled the bones with horror: group abuse of girls in front of mothers, rape of babies and infants. In particular, in May Denisova went to the World Economic Forum in Davos, where she also told how hundreds of people testify every day about the terrible crimes of the occupiers.
The stories of crimes that Denisova daughter was voiced publicly, nobody passed to militiamen. As well as the contacts of the victims.
Denisova herself, according to the Ombudsman's Office, called it work “on the information front”.
These stories were tried to develop by journalists shocked by the brutality of the invaders. However, they could not find confirmation for their materials.
Law enforcement officers also tried to “dig” on their own. They raised all appeals to doctors, statements to the police, data on the dead, trying to find the cases that Denisova described. For example, they were looking for all two-year-old twins from the Kherson region who, according to the ombudsman, had died of rape. However, all this work was in vain.
To find out where Denisova got her stories, prosecutors called her for questioning as a witness. But in the law enforcement office, the official was tight-lipped. She could not name the source of her data.
Later, during the second interrogation, just before her release, Denisova admitted that she had learned everything from her daughter. I couldn't remember whether she talked to other hotline psychologists.
Oleksandr Kvitko was also summoned for questioning several times. According to the UE, the psychologist claimed that in a month and a half her hotline received about 1,040 calls. Of these, 450 involved child rape.
However, when prosecutors took an official statement, it turned out that only 92 calls had been received over the phone.
< p style = "text-align: justify;">Kvitko could not provide any details: who called her, to which doctors she referred the victims. There was nothing to indicate that these victims really existed.
But the psychologist said that she passed the stories to her mother “for tea”.
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In parallel, events unfolded in higher cabinets. According to the UE interlocutor in the leadership of the presidential party, due to Denisova's statements, official Kyiv started to have problems.
European partners appealed to Ukrainian law enforcement and parliaments, asking for facts, evidence of rape.
There was nothing to answer Europeans – the ombudsman “gave back”.
All this became the basis for the rapid release of Denisova.
The publication does not inform whether Denisova's activity became the subject of investigation by law enforcement agencies. Or did the police only search for evidence of the stories that Denisova produced as an ombudsman. . A source close to Denisova's UE reported that the commissioner had repeatedly asked UNICEF to increase pay for hotline psychologists.
Read also: The occupiers continue to rape Ukrainian children, there are fatalities – Denisova
It will be recalled that at the end of May, the Verkhovna Rada dismissed the Commissioner for Human Rights Lyudmila Denisova .
In 2019, the ombudsman was involved in a corruption scandal. Her name appeared on the so-called “Wolf films” recorded in the office of the chairman of the scandalous District Administrative Court of Kyiv. However, this did not prevent her from remaining in office.
Denisova's appointment four years ago was the result of the most politicized process of distribution of positions according to party quotas and violation of procedure. She took office in 2018 and was close to Interior Minister Arsen Avakov. The fact that Lyudmila Denisova did not have experience in human rights activities, as required by law, did not interest anyone.
What actions Commissioner for Human Rights Lyudmila Denisova was far from professional (as was her daughter, psychologist Kvitko) – that's for sure. Unfortunately, such unprofessional actions give grounds for manipulation and mass doubts that such crimes did take place. Experts know that it is very difficult for victims of sexual violence to tell their story. However, to refer to unnamed sources without 100% confirmation from officials – from the journalist in this case is almost a mirror image. Both experts and the media must verify their words, spoken in public, without concealing the truth.
