Dmytro Khyliuk
Dmytro Khyliuk is a human rights defender and a journalist for the independent Ukrainian news agency UNIAN who monitors court hearings and covers the topics related to civil society movements and human rights in Ukraine. As a journalist and public figure, he draws attention to the importance of judicial reform and highlights the anti-corruption efforts of Ukrainian society. After the start of the Russian invasion to the Kyiv region, Dmytro Khyliuk worked from the cities and villages near the frontline, providing news about the situation with civilian population under attack.On 1 March 2022, he wrote that Russian troops were occupying the village of Kozarovychi, where his family lived, in a post on his personal Facebook page. On 3 March 2022 Dmytro Khyliuk and his father were detained by the Russian military when they came to look at their house, which had been damaged by Russian shelling. The human rights defender's father was released after 8 days, but the whereabouts of Dmytro Khyliuk still remain unknown.
Before the escalation of the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine and the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula by the Russian Federation, the key concerns regarding the situation of human rights defenders (HRDs) in Ukraine were characterised mainly by systemic impediments to the rights to freedom of assembly, association, and personal liberty. In many cases, HRDs were subjected to intimidation, harassment, and attacks, while violence against journalists was tolerated by the authorities. The situation was exacerbated by pervasive corruption in all branches of government and limitations on workers’ rights to strike.
Although human rights organisations that work for the protection of the rights of different minority groups (such as LGBTI, ethnic, national, and racial groups) still face obstacles (refusal of permission and protection) in their enjoyment of the rights to freedom of assembly and may be subjected to attacks from radical groups, the government that came into power in 2015 has significantly increased its support for their work as compared to their predecessors.
