Ukrainian teen who posted harrowing hospital bed video describing how she was …

Tragic Oksana Makar dies from severe burns and lung damage
Medics had amputated one of her arms and both her legs to keep her alive
Her rape attack caused nationwide protests in Ukraine against police corruption
Police initially released two suspects accused of savage attack

By
Simon Tomlinson, Jill Reilly and Chris Parsons

PUBLISHED:

10:33 GMT, 29 March 2012

|

UPDATED:

17:43 GMT, 29 March 2012

A Ukrainian teen who was gang-raped, dumped in a ditch and set on fire has died days after she posted a tragic online video revealing her ordeal.

Oksana Makar bravely told from her hospital bed how she was raped, strangled and burned by three men in a savage attack which stripped off 55 per cent of her skin.

Her harrowing hospital video, filmed by her mother, emerged after medics had been forced to amputate one of her arms and both her feet in a battle to keep her alive.

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Harrowing: In the video, Oksana Makar, 18, looks in pain as Tetyana Surovitska, urges her to describe her horrific ordeal by saying 'a couple of words to Ukraine'

Harrowing: In the video, Oksana Makar, 18, looks in pain as her mother, Tetyana Surovitska, urges her to describe her horrific ordeal by saying 'a couple of words to Ukraine'

Painful: The fire stripped off 55 per cent of her skin and surgeons had to amputate one of her arms and both her feet as they tried and eventually failed to keep her alive

But after a two-week fight for life, health officials in Donetsk said Oksana, 18, died today of severe burns and damage to her lungs.

The rape attack on Oksana shocked Ukraine with its cruelty, and also caused nationwide protests against corruption after police initially released two of the suspects who had powerful connections in the region.

In the 1:19 minute video clip which emerged earlier this month, Oksana looks distraught as her mother, Tetyana Surovitska, urges her to describe her horrific ordeal by saying 'a couple of words to Ukraine'.

She starts to describe the attack, but then breaks off looking visibly upset and says she can’t.

The fire 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 - her bandaged shoulder can be seen on her right side.

Tragic: Oksana Makar claimed before she died she was gang-raped, dumped in a ditch and set on fire by three men

When questioned as to what punishment her attackers should receive after the March 9 attack, the teen replies their testicles should be cut off and fed to dogs.

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.

When her mother asks her how she will survive, the blonde-headed young woman says: 'How I will live, I will live. That’s all.'

Her mother has been criticised for posting the video online with many users suggesting it was insensitive to her daughter asking her to recount her harrowing experience publicly when 'she is clearly distraught and in pain.'

Miss Makar starts to describe the attack, but then breaks off looking visibly upset and says she can’t.

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

Ms Surovitska has already been accused of spending fundraising money for her daughter's care on herself, as well as charging reporters for interviews.

'Look at me. Do I look like a rich woman?' she said in an interview with a Ukrainian website, Gazeta.ua.

The shocking case sparked mass protests across Ukraine and 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.

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

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'

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.

Miss 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.

She regained consciousness on Friday, but doctors induced a coma and moved her from a hospital in Mykolayiv to a burn treatment center in Donetsk.

In an interview with Gazeta.ua after the attack, she said: '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.

Prosecutors say they did not question Miss 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.

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Poor thing!! You are at Peace now!! God bless you child!! Xx

- We Cant Always, Get What We Want!!, 30/3/2012 08:01

Im So, So sorry that she had to endure this attack, and mostly that she had to endure this pain. I hope that the jury considers her immense suffering.

- Stephanie, US, 30/3/2012 07:05

Poor beautiful girl. She didn't deserve this. The video is heartbreaking. I hope justice is done for you Oksana.

- Elle, Lexington, USA, 30/3/2012 05:57

OMG That poor girl ..she was so beautiful! Please RIP

- Diane, Attleboro , MA, 30/3/2012 05:33

what a sad story,it feels me with despair,at the cruelty of fellow human beings,why?RIP,you didnt deserve the pain and horror inflicted upon you.

- Paul, Epsom Uk, 30/3/2012 04:17

I am devastated at hearing the news. Poor girl! How can people be so callous! I find it difficult to kill a bug, so I can't understand someone actually torturing someone and leaving them for dead! Sad world. RIP, beautiful angel.

- Mia, Home, 30/3/2012 03:41

I am so sorry Oksana Makar.

- Samara, BNE, 30/3/2012 03:39

God keep this angel in your arms. To have suffered so, been so brave, I pray she is now romping through wild flowers in lovely gardens. Yes, it's a fantasy, but she is at peace now.

- NWW, Someplace, 30/3/2012 03:03

Rest in Peace little girl. May the next world treat you better then this one.

- ftk66, Las Cruces NM, 30/3/2012 02:37

While her Mother seemed to push Oksana to recount her ordeal how else was the poor girl going to get her side across. It must of been horrible for the mum to see her daughter in such a state. May she now be in a happier safer place and finally be at rest.

- Juliet, A wigwam in a cold climate., 30/3/2012 02:09

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