Lubinets reports pressure after exposing violations in TCC
Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets stated that his representative in the Zakarpattia region, Andrii Kriuchkov, is being persecuted after exposing serious violations by employees of the Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center (TCC and SP).
According to Lubinets, the pressure is related to Kriuchkov’s work in documenting human rights violations. The Ombudsman stressed that the persecution of an employee performing legally prescribed monitoring functions is unacceptable and requires an appropriate response from the state.
It was Kriuchkov who conducted a monitoring visit to the Uzhhorod district TCC and SP this spring. At that time, representatives of the Ombudsman’s Office reported cases of prolonged detention of persons without proper legal grounds, inadequate living conditions, confiscation of phones and documents, and problems with the provision of medical care.
Subsequently, the inspection gained criminal law traction. In June, several employees of the Uzhhorod RTCC were served with suspicion. Specifically, it concerned abuse of office, unlawful deprivation of liberty, and torture of a conscript. According to the Ombudsman’s Office, in one episode, people were handcuffed to a staircase.
Kriuchkov also initiated an audit of the actions of officials of the Zakarpattia regional TCC and SP who, according to the Ombudsman’s Office, may have known about the detected facts but did not stop the violations. A separate issue was raised regarding the actions of the operational command “West” commission, which, as Lubinets claimed, did not report the obvious violations during the official investigation.
Earlier, a court had already brought charges against a TCC official for obstructing the work of the Ombudsman’s representative during the inspection. Lubinets previously characterized such cases as a systemic problem and stated that the refusal to grant access to the Office’s representatives, refusal to provide information, and attempts to block monitoring visits hinder parliamentary oversight of human rights compliance.
Details regarding the form of the current persecution of Kriuchkov and the persons Lubinets considers involved are currently insufficient in the available official materials for independent confirmation. The Ombudsman, however, links the situation to his representative’s activity in uncovering violations in the TCC system.
Based on materials: Dmytro Lubinets, Office of the Ombudsman of Ukraine
