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Odessa court refuses to disclose the cause of death of May 2 tragedy victims

The riots in Odessa on May 2, 2014, left left 48 people dead and over 200 injured
People lay flowers during a rally to remember federalization supporters who died on 2 May 2014 in Odessa Arkhip Vereschagin/TASS
People lay flowers during a rally to remember federalization supporters who died on 2 May 2014 in Odessa
© Arkhip Vereschagin/TASS

ODESSA, March 11. /TASS/. A district administrative court in the Ukrainian city of Odessa has refused to publicly disclose the results of the forensic medical examination to determine the cause of death of 48 people during the tragic events of May 2, 2014. The lawsuit has been filed by journalists of the May 2 Group which is conducting an independent investigation.

They believe that the Ukrainian authorities "have created an information vacuum around the investigation" and demand that the data kept in the archive of the forensic medical examination bureau be made public. The plaintiffs intend to appeal against the court decision.

A total of 48 people died and over 200 were injured in the tragic events that happened in May in Odessa. A sign-up campaign in support of a referendum turned into clashes between nationalist activists of the Right Sector and the Maidan self-defense groups on the one side and federalization supporters on the other side. The clashes resulted in the local House of Trade Unions being set on fire.

The investigation carried out by two parliamentary groups and law enforcers hasn't identified the perpetrators to date.

The United Nations has classified as ‘inadequate’ the actions by the Ukrainian authorities to investigate last year’s murders in Kiev’s Independence Square and the House of Trade Unions in Odessa.