Kyiv demonstrators rally for justice in murder of lawyer Iryna Nozdrovska

Hundreds of people, including human rights advocates and lawyers, rallied near the headquarters of the National Police of Ukraine on Volodymyrska Street to demand justice in the murder of 38-year-old Iryna Nozdrovska.

Nozdrovska, a human rights activist and lawyer, was found dead in a river near Demydove village in Kyiv Oblast on Jan. 1 after receiving death threats for pursuing justice in the last two years for her sister.

Her sister, 26-year-old Svitlana Sepatinska, was struck and killed on Sept. 30, 2015 by a car driven under the influence of alcohol by Dmytro Rososhanskiy, the nephew of the then-head of the Vyshgorod District Court. Rososhanskiy was convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison, but his appeal for freedom under an amnesty law was heard in court on Dec. 27.

Nozdrovska went missing on Dec. 29, the day after the Kyiv Oblast Court of Appeal rejected Rososhanskiy’s appeal for freedom. “The court didn’t satisfy his defender’s claim,” wrote Nozdrovska on her Facebook page. “The killer of my sister will celebrate New Year behind bars.”

Nozdrovska had allegedly received threats from Rososhanskiy and his family.

Lawmaker Mustafa Nayyem wrote on his Facebook page on Jan. 1 that Rososhanskiy’s father was openly threatening Nozdrovska during the court session, saying she would “end up badly.”

Activists carried posters reading “Find the murderers!”, demanded to speed up the investigation and punish Nozdrovska’s murderers.

Yury Levchenko was among them.

“I came here because it physically hurts what’s going on here,” he says. “The woman was killed and thrown into a water, and I want to know who did it and why.”

People were also angry with Interior Minister Arsen Avakov for not taking stronger action to prevent the murder and some called for his resignation.

Head of Main Department of the National Police of Ukraine in Kyiv Oblast Dmytro Tsenov talked to the protestors and promised an investigation.

Tsenov said that the victim’s body is undergoing an autopsy while police are examining 20 security cameras and have already interrogated about 50 witnesses.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said he believes that the murder of Nozdrovska is a challenge to the state and a test for society in terms of protecting women activists.

“We have a better situation with female congresses, but not with domestic violence and the role of women in politics,” he wrote on Twitter on Jan. 2. “The murder of Nozdrovska is a challenge to the state and a test for society on the ability to protect women activists and justice in general.”

Vitaliy Serheyev, a former fiancé of Nozdrovska, was interrogated as a witness. He said he last saw her in August and hasn’t had any contact since. Members of Nozdrovska’s family haven’t made any statements yet.