38 MONITORING OF CUSTODIAL SETTINGS IN UKRAINE: In addition, on the same day the head of the Ombudsman’s Secretariat sent a letter to the Head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ Main Department in the City of Kyiv with a demand to urgently provide the Ombudsman with exhaustive information on all individuals detained by the police on January 19 – 20, 2014, and to check information on alleged detention and illtreatment of journalists. As of January 20, 2014 the staff of the NPM Department began making daily monitoring visits to police authorities and units and to Kyiv medical institutions in order to verify information on possible violations of the rights and freedoms of persons detained in connection with the events in Hrushevskoho Street. Information on each fact of identified violations was immediately communicated to Kyiv Prosecutor’s Office for its appropriate action. On January 20, 2014 during a monitoring visit to Darnitsky District Police Department it was established that Radio Liberty journalists D. Barkar and I. Iskhakov had been apprehended by “Berkut” riot police around 8.00 in the morning of that day, during life coverage of the developments near Lobanovsky Stadium. Both journalists suffered injuries during their arrest, upon which they were put into a police vehicle and held there for over four hours, before being brought to Darnitsky police station. The Ombudsman immediately informed Kyiv Prosecutor’s Office and the Prosecutor General’s Office of this fact and requested their appropriate action. On the same day during a monitoring visit to Dniprovsky District Police Department the NPM team established multiple facts of violation of the right of the defense, of ill- treatment and of excessive use of force by police officers against detainees. In order to restore the abridged rights and freedoms relevant information was immediately referred to A. Nahorny, prosecutor with the Prosecutor’s Office of the City of Kyiv, and V. Yatsenko, chief of pre-trial investigation unit at Dniprovsky District Police Department of MIA Main Department in the City of Kyiv. The staff of the Secretariat was also promptly monitoring all data on the number and circumstances of detentions in conjunction with the events in the Ukrainian capital, as well as the number of people who applied for help at or were brought to health care facilities in the City of Kyiv in connection with received injuries. Performance in this area was significantly enhanced due to fruitful cooperation of the Ombudsman with the Center for Free Legal Aid Coordination. On January 22 – 23, 2014 during visits to the Emergency Hospital of Kyiv the NPM staff interviewed hospitalized protesters in custody of the police. The vast majority of 17 interviewees reported infliction of injuries by the police and failure to provide proper medical assistance. Examination of medical and other records showed that these detainees had received no medical assistance upon infliction of injuries by the police and that their admission to the medical facility occurred 7 to 14 hours after injury. On the morning of January 22, 2014 the developments in the vicinity of Hrushevskoho Street showed drastic escalation of violence and bloodshed on both sides. Beatings and injuries were followed by casualties: several protesters were killed. In this conjunction the Ombudsman expressed her deep condolences to the