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Finnish human rights activist calls for launching criminal case over DPR shellings

"We are talking about Kiev’s violations of the Minsk agreements - violation of ceasefire", said famous human rights activist Johan Backman

Военнослужащий армии ДНР в окопе Mikhail Sokolov/TASS, archive

Военнослужащий армии ДНР в окопе

© Mikhail Sokolov/TASS, archive

STOCKHOLM, September 27. /TASS/. Famous human rights activist Johan Backman has called on the Finnish authorities to open a criminal case against Ukraine on charges of violating ceasefire regime in Donbass and attempt on the life of Finnish volunteers fighting on the side of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR).

"One of Finnish volunteers - Petri Viljakainen - was recently wounded in the back, when the Ukrainian army shelled the positions of DPR forces," Backman told TASS. "It happened during the ceasefire, and we consider this as a premeditated crime against Finnish volunteers. We are talking about Kiev’s violations of the Minsk agreements - violation of ceasefire. It constitutes an international criminal case and a criminal case in accordance with Finnish laws. We demand to institute a criminal case against Kiev’s army," Backman stressed.

He added that necessary evidence of crimes committed by the Kiev army against Finnish citizens were handed to the Finnish police and urged law enforcement agencies to launch an investigation.

Minsk agreements on Ukraine

Ceasefire is envisaged by the Minsk accords that were signed on February 12, after negotiations in the so-called "Normandy format" in the Belarusian capital Minsk, bringing together Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko.

The Minsk accords also envisage weaponry withdrawal, prisoner exchange, local election in Donbass, constitutional reform in Ukraine and establishing working sub-groups on security, political, economy and humanitarian components of the Minsk accords.

The Ukrainian forces and the self-defense forces of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk republics have repeatedly accused each other of violating ceasefire and other points of the Minsk agreements.

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Ukraine crisis Ukraine Eastern Ukraine Finland

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