The defendants in the case were Ukrainian activists who were participants in Ukrainian actions against Yanukovych. The “victims” in the cases are the so-called agents of the Russian government - former employees of the Crimean subdivision of the Ministry of Internal Affairs “Berkut” or members of the Crimean self-defense, who took an active part in the seizure of Ukrainian military units, administrative buildings in Crimea, as well as dispersal of pro-Ukrainian rallies. The detainees were subjected to severe torture with electric current and other types of physical pressure, falsification of evidence, bias of judges and investigators, politically motivated sentences, disproportionate punishments, and refusal to investigate the use of torture.
