Organiser of protests in support of ex-defence minister Fedorov detained, his social media accounts compromised
A Telegram chat used to coordinate protests against the dismissal of former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov has been deleted following the detention of its administrator, Vitalii Kamka.
Source: Human rights centre ZMINA
Details: Kamka claims that prior to the deletion of the account, an investigator gained access to his Telegram account and posted a message on his behalf that he did not write.
The chat's disappearance on 7 August was reported by one of the organisers, Arkadii Petrosian, during a protest at Ivan Franko Square in Kyiv. Later that day, posts appeared on Threads reporting the detention of the channel's administrator.
This information was also confirmed to ZMINA by protest participant Serhii Motrenko, who had been in contact with Kamka.
According to Motrenko, Kamka uses the pseudonym Vitalii Pavuk on social media. He administered the Protest Telegram chat, which had around 770 members and was used to coordinate participants who regularly joined demonstrations.
Participants said that after 18:00 on 7 August, a message appeared in the chat from Pavuk's account stating: "I didn't sleep last night. Had time to reflect. We are doing the wrong thing. I've made my decision. I will serve the state in the Armed Forces! Let's stand together! Ukraine above all!" Shortly after, the chat was deleted.
Meanwhile, Kamka told another protest participant that he had not written the message and had not deleted the chat. He alleges that after his detention, an investigator accessed his account, posted the message and deleted the chat.
Kamka said on social media that on 7 August he was stopped by police while riding a motorcycle. Officers checked his details and found he was listed as absent without leave (AWOL).
He was then handcuffed and taken to Bila Tserkva. Kamka claims that at the local Military Law Enforcement Service unit, he was handcuffed to a bed. He shared photos and videos of himself in handcuffs on Instagram and Threads.
As of 8 August, he said he remained in Bila Tserkva and was to be transferred to Cherkasy to return to military service.
Later on 8 August, Motrenko provided ZMINA with a recording of his conversation with Kamka, in which Kamka said he had already been transferred to Cherkasy and was at military unit A7017. He stated that overall he was treated adequately and was not subjected to physical violence, though he had been kept in handcuffs for extended periods during earlier stages of his detention.
ZMINA has not yet been able to determine how long Kamka was restrained or what exactly justified the use of handcuffs. Ukrainian law allows military law enforcement personnel to use restraints during detention, escort or custody under certain conditions, including resistance, escape attempts, attacks or risk of harm to oneself or others.
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