Oksana Makar: Ukrainian teen ‘gang-raped, dumped in a ditch and set on fire …

Girl, 18, incredibly survives ordeal after being left for dead
But suffered 50% burns and needed arm and feet amputated
Naked protesters lead mass outcry at sloppy police investigation
Suspects initially released over 'lack of evidence', but are re-arrested and charged after President steps in
MPs: 'Bring in death penalty or castrate suspects'

By
Simon Tomlinson

PUBLISHED:

00:38 GMT, 18 March 2012

|

UPDATED:

11:47 GMT, 18 March 2012

'I thought I had died': Oksana Makar claims she was gang-raped, dumped in a ditch and set on fire by three men

The shocking case of a young woman allegedly gang-raped, dumped in a ditch and set on fire by two sons of ex-government officials has sparked mass protests across Ukraine.

Naked campaigners led protests over the sloppy nature of the police investigation and the perceived leniency with which the suspects have been treated.

Some Members of Parliament have called for Ukraine to bring in the death penalty for the accused, with one even suggesting the alleged rapists be castrated.

Two of the suspects were Maxim
Prisyjnikov, 23, the son of the regional administrator, and Artyon
Pogosyan, 21, the son of the regional prosecutor, according to the Hurriyet Daily News.

The victim, Oksana Makar, remarkably survived the horrific attack in Mykolayiv on March 9.

But
the fire has stripped off 55 per cent of her skin and surgeons had to
amputate one of her arms and both her feet as they battled to keep her
alive.

The 18-year-old claims she was invited by Prisyjnikov and Pogosyan to their friend Yevgeniy Krasnoshek's apartment, where she was allegedly raped.

They tried to strangle her to death
before wrapping her in a sheet, dumping her in a pit at a construction
site and setting her alight, it was alleged in the Kyiv Post.

Bare necessities: Women's rights group Femen protest naked outside the state prosecutor's office in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv to demand tough punishment for three men accused of raping and set alight an 18-year-old woman

Makar was found barely alive the
following day by a man who heard her moaning. After undergoing surgery,
she was finally able to recount her ordeal to police.

In
an interview with Gazeta.ua, she said: 'I thought I would not survive. I
could not feel my body. At first, I was screaming for help.

'But there was nobody there, I began to pray. I thought I had died. I remember it all as if in a fog.'

The
three suspects were arrested, but two of them were released later that
day due to lack of evidence, according to the Mykolayiv prosecutor’s
office.

Outcry: Campaigners were also angry at the perceived leniency handed down to the arrested men, two of whom were initially released over 'lack of evidence'

Prosecutors say they did not question Makar because she was not conscious despite her mother insisting she was able to speak.

But anger erupted across the country when a chief police officer confirmed two of the suspects were sons of former government officials, one of whom apparently appeared in a YouTube video calmly describing the attack.

Women's rights group Femen staged a topless protest in front of the general prosecutors office in the capital, Kyiv, chanting 'Death to the sadists!' and 'Execute the b****s!'

The demonstrations led Ukrainian President Yanukovych to order the general prosecutor to oversee the case and on March 13 the two men were re-arrested and all three suspects were charged with attempted murder.

Here's what other readers have said. Why not add your thoughts,
or debate this issue live on our message boards.

The comments below have been moderated in advance.

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Bring back the death penalty!!!

- Philip, London, 18/3/2012 13:43

"But the DM wants us to believe it's only the underclass that is evil.- William Topping, cheshire,"
What William and his cronys want everybody to forget is that the Bolshevik revolution that led to the establishment of the elite "Politburo" class that creates these criminals with immunity due to their families power and position, is not at all any different than today's socalled "Occupy" movement. "Occupy" wants to recreate the failed socialistic system that led to the Soviet bloc elitists who committed horrendous crimes with impunity and immunity, parasitically ensconced in lives of privilege while the real workers suffer. One only needs read history to understand the perversion that "Occupy" is really about. Stalin's inner circle of deviants were merely the antecedents of "Occupy" that actually succeeded. The Ukraine rapists are what is left over from that nightmare .

- Iowa48, Portland Oregon, 18/3/2012 13:42

Naked? This was a protest with women baring their breasts. No one was naked. Why trivialise something so serious?

- Real Istbear, Brighton U K, 18/3/2012 13:39

this is how the elite class act,and they get away with it.
elites,politicians,royalty,they seem to think they have a divine right to do these sort of things.

- keith, bournemouth, 18/3/2012 13:34

@vs about you thought regarding the naked campaginers. If it wasn't for the girls stripping off would this story have even been reported over here?
Also by your logic - if all women are effectively told to dress modestly or they are asking for it or that men who undergo this type of violence are ridiculed if they come forward and told that they must have asked for it some how by being gay, floating society's norms or just being in the wrong place at the wrong time; then you have to question what that message tells all of us about what it really thinks about men in general. That they are all potential animals that want one thing and will do what they want to get it, so really what is the point in even trying to do something about it because it won'tchange.

- sarcy, loppy land, 18/3/2012 13:26

OMG. That poor girl. 🙁

- Nayla, Mars, 18/3/2012 13:20

Such a beautiful young girl. I hope she recovers as much as possible physically and mentally. There must be lots of men in the West who would protect and cherish her. "Men" in some of these countries don't deserve their beautiful women.

- anon, uk, 18/3/2012 13:16

It frightens me how one 'human being' can do this to another, whether male or female. How can one even think of such actions, let alone carry them out? It is sheer evil and should not be excused. Well done to Femen for getting the publicity and I hope the perps are suitably punished.

- PetiteGirl, England, 18/3/2012 13:07

What is wrong with some men who can torture,rape,and set alight a precious young girl.The violence men are capable of inflicting upon women is extraordinary.It must stop and real men must make sure of it.
- Oliver, Reading, 18/3/20121------------ you're pathetic , so you're saying men who are given the same treatment by women should be shown hardly any sympathy, women are just as cruel and awfull as men and it's about time you realised it , and wake up to the fact that in the uk , women are given more rights than men and use it to turn GOOD men into disposable objects

- John, London, 18/3/2012 13:01

sorry, but can't understand why the protesters needed to strip off, it only trivialises a horrific crime and just reinforces the perception of women as sex objects. - amarita, london, uk, 18/03/2012 08:55 AM##### well it did ensure they got the publicity it deserved, and for that they must be congratulated. What else could these few protesters do? Well done I say!! Alanh, Loughton, Essex , 18/3/2012 11:46 What else could they do?! You cannot seriously think that the only option they had was to remove clothing?! But then again, in this day and age, that guarantees news doesn't it. Does not make it right, regardless of the outcome. I am so pleased there are still people who see that.

- Saks, Buxton, 18/3/2012 12:59

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