KIEV — An 18-year-old Ukrainian woman who prosecutors say was gang-raped, half-strangled and then set on fire in an attack that sparked street protests in a provincial town, has died, a hospital official said Thursday.
"Lung bleeding began and then her heart activity stopped. We tried three times to revive her with defibrillation," said Emil Fistal, head of the special burn unit where Oksana Makar was taken for treatment.
Hundreds of people took to the streets earlier this month after police released two of Makar's three suspected attackers whose parents had political connections, reigniting a public debate on corruption.
The two men were rearrested and police disciplined after the intervention of President Viktor Yanukovych who sent an investigating team to the town of Mykolayiv in southern Ukraine.
All three young men have been charged with rape and one of them additionally with attempted murder.
Interior Minister Vitaly Zakharchenko confirmed earlier this month that the parents of at least one of the three suspects were former government officials in the region.
Local media say Makar met two of the three accused in a local bar March 10 and after spending some time there with them, went to the apartment of the third.
The reports say she was then raped and one of the suspected attackers tried to strangle her with a cord. They subsequently wrapped her in a blanket, took her to a pit on a building site and tried to set her on fire.
She was found by a passing motorist and taken to a hospital with serious burns. She had both feet and an arm amputated in surgery, according to the reports.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
