Militant Spilna Sprava leader Danylyuk in London; AutoMaidan leader Bulatov flies to Vilnius

The 32-year-old EuroMaidan activist and Kyiv-educated lawyer wrote that when he learned of his pending “arrest and further incarceration or torture…I changed clothes, and without notifying my security detail, went into hiding and left Khreshchatyk Street (main thoroughfare in Kyiv). After a few days of hiding, I crossed the border at night by foot. Today I finally made it to London. I’ll have to coordinate (the group’s efforts) in exile.”

Danylyuk’s organization came under severe criticism from authorities and the political opposition after it occupied three national government buildings last week deemed strategically important: Agricultural, Energy and Justice ministries. 

The group eventually vacated the buildings but not before causing a stir. Justice Minister Olena Lukash had threatened to demand that the National Security Council impose a state of emergency in the country. Detractors of Spilna Sprava branded the group as “provocateurs.”

Police issued a warrant for his arrest still on Jan. 24, the day they say he went missing. However, Danylyuk was active on Facebook and accessible by mobile phone unitl Jan. 28. 

His wife and son flew to London on Jan. 27. 

He is wanted on suspicion of “organizing riots that caused the death of people or serious harm to them,” reads the Interior Ministry’s database of wanted people. The offense carries up to 15 years behind bars. 

According to the EuroMaidan public relations service, there are some 30 activists missing. Several have been kidnapped, one of whom ended up dead. Two known kidnapping victims who survived their ordeals emerged badly injured. 

One victim, leading AutoMaidan activist Dmytro Bulatov, was held in captivity and tortured for eight days. He was mutilated, beaten and crucified. Bulatov flew to Vilnius tonight via Riga, Latvia, a Facebook post says by leading opposition lawmaker Petro Poroshenko, reportedly to avert criminal charges that he participated in a riot and to seek medical care for his injuries. 

Ukrainian opposition activist Dmitry Bulatov sits in an ambulance at Vilnius airport where he arrived for treatment on February 2.2014. The Ukrainian protester whose account of torture has shocked Europe arrived in Vilnius late Sunday, hours after a Kiev court ruled that he could leave the country for treatment. Bulatov left Ukraine following intense pressure by Western leaders after he appeared on television, his face swollen and caked in blood, and said he had been kidnapped and tortured over his role in protests th

Kyiv Post editor Mark Rachkevych can be reached at rachkevych@kyivpost.com.