A former MP from Ukraine’s “Freedom” Party attacked a visitor to a cafe in Kiev over disputes over the Russian language. On Monday, February 15, the Strana.ua portal reports.
As specified, the incident occurred on the eve of February 14. The Ministry of Internal Affairs told the newspaper that the scuffle was staged by the politician Oleg Gelevei and his previously convicted friend, as well as a resident of Kiev who came to a cafe to have dinner.
According to eyewitnesses, Gelevey and his friend were intoxicated, they started a conflict with a waitress who served visitors in Russian.
One of the citizens stood up for the employee of the institution, as a result, the attackers wounded him with a knife. The victim was hospitalized, the arriving police detained the intruders and opened a criminal case. The ex-people’s deputy was temporarily released after interrogation.
For an attack on a Kiev resident, Gelevey and his comrade face up to 7 years in prison. Details and circumstances of the conflict are being established.
The norm on the compulsory use of the Ukrainian language in the service sector on the territory of Ukraine came into force on January 16. In the first two weeks, over 300 complaints were received due to violations of the law – in particular, due to refusal to provide services in the state language, lack of a Ukrainian-language version of documents, signboards and price tags.
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