In a Zhytomyr hospital, a minor patient was tied to a bed, beaten in the face, and suffocated with a pillow. The police reacted and arrived at the medical facility only after the intervention of the Ombudsman's Office. This was reported by Dmytro Lubinets, the Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for Human Rights, who added that he immediately appealed to the Prosecutor General's Office and the National Police, demanding an assessment of the inaction of law enforcement officers, UNN reports.
Details
According to Lubinets, a 15-year-old boy witnessed the screams, beatings, and abuse of the patient in the Zhytomyr hospital. He contacted the police, but there was no reaction, so he informed me.
After receiving the complaint, I immediately sent a monitoring group to Zhytomyr. The violations were confirmed: the minor patient was tied to the bed, beaten in the face, and suffocated with a pillow. The police again left the report of violence without reaction. According to official documents, the child's restraint lasted only 2 hours. But our employees found out that in reality, it was applied almost all the time of her stay in the institution, with the exception of short breaks — practically almost a day.
According to Lubinets, "it is shocking that the police arrived at the scene only after the intervention of our Office." Only then did investigative actions begin, evidence collection, and documentation of the crime. Information about the criminal offense was entered into the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations under Article 127 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (torture).
The Ombudsman also immediately appealed to the Prosecutor General's Office and the National Police to take control of the pre-trial investigation and assess the actions of law enforcement officers who had previously failed to respond to the child's report of torture and bodily harm.
The injured girl is currently in the intensive care unit of the National Children's Specialized Hospital "Okhmatdyt," where she is not only recovering but also coming to terms with what she experienced. We recently visited her and discussed further support. Violations of children's rights in healthcare facilities are unacceptable and require an immediate response from the state. I additionally appealed to the Ministry of Health regarding the protection of the patient's rights and the verification of the specified circumstances.