Ukrainian activist dies three months after acid attack

A prominent Ukrainian anti-corruption activist has died, three months after she was injured in an acid attack.

People hold a portrait of Gandyuk in front of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine following the campaigner's death.

People hold a portrait of Gandyuk in front of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine following the campaigner's death. Source: Getty Images

Ukrainian anti-corruption campaigner Kateryna Gandzyuk, who seriously injured in an acid attack in July, has died in hospital.  

"Katya (Kateryna) is dead. Details will be available in a while," a Facebook group that publishes updates about Gandzyuk's health and news on the investigation into the shock attack in the ex-Soviet country, posted on Sunday.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko confirmed the news and offered condolences to Gandzyuk's relatives at a meeting with representatives of the Ukrainian community in Turkey's Antalya, where he is on an official visit. 

"I appeal to law enforcement officers to do everything possible so that the murderers of Kateryna Gandzyuk are found, put on trial and punished," Poroshenko tweeted.

Kateryna Gandzyuk was seriously injured in an acid attack in July.
Kateryna Gandzyuk was seriously injured in an acid attack in July. Source: Getty Images

Johannes Hahn, the EU commissioner responsible for bloc enlargement negotiations and neighbourhood policy, said he was saddened by the news from Ukraine.

"Attacks against civil society activists are unacceptable," Hahn tweeted.

Gandzyuk, 33, who worked as an adviser to the mayor of Ukraine's southern city Kherson, was leaving home early on the morning of July 31 when a man poured about a litre of acid over her and ran away.

Gandzyuk was immediately taken to hospital in a serious condition, with burns on 30 percent of her body, including her upper torso, arms, and face.

Gandzyuk was an outspoken critic of corrupt practices in law enforcement agencies, particularly the police.

She suffered burns to 40 per cent of her body and severe eye damage in the attack.
She suffered burns to 40 per cent of her body and severe eye damage in the attack. Source: Getty Images

The country has seen an increase in attacks on anti-corruption activists and campaigners. 

Journalist Pavel Sheremet was killed by a car bomb in 2016 while driving near his home in Kiev.

In 2017, the stabbed body of human rights activist Iryna Nozdrovska was found in a river outside Kiev.

In July, Vitaliy Oleshko, a former volunteer fighter in the rebel Ukrainian east and a local activist, was shot dead outside a hotel in the southeastern city of Berdyansk.


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2 min read

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By SBS-AFP

Source: AFP, SBS



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