Lawyer beaten at Kharkiv Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center received disability and appealed to the ECHR – Dmytro Lubinets
The Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, reported that a lawyer who was beaten inside the premises of the Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center in Kharkiv has received a disability and appealed to the European Court of Human Rights.
According to the ombudsman, the incident occurred on March 15, 2025. The lawyer arrived at the Kyiv District Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center in Kharkiv to provide free legal assistance to a detained man.
As Lubinets states, she was not allowed to see her client, and instead the woman sustained serious injuries. After the incident, she underwent treatment, had surgery and rehabilitation, and was later assigned a Group III disability.
"This is simply unthinkable: how did a lawyer, who came to perform her professional duty, end up in a hospital bed? If a person pays with their own health for the right to be a lawyer, then this is no longer a matter of an isolated incident. This is a disturbing signal for the entire justice system," Lubinets pointed out.
The ombudsman reported that the lawyer filed a statement with law enforcement agencies regarding the commission of a criminal offense. At the same time, according to the victim, during the year the person who inflicted bodily harm on her was not identified, the Territorial Recruitment Center employees were not questioned, and surveillance camera footage was not provided. Some of the necessary investigative actions, according to him, were carried out only after court intervention.
Currently, the State Bureau of Investigation has opened a separate criminal proceeding regarding possible official negligence by police officers during the investigation of this case.
As a result, the lawyer appealed to the European Court of Human Rights due to the situation that occurred.
The Committee for the Protection of Lawyers' Rights at the Bar Council of Kharkiv Region reported that during 2025–2026, 17 cases of physical force used against lawyers were recorded. According to the committee, in some cases psychological pressure and threats of mobilization were also reported.
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