He beat tourists, made threats and destroyed tents near Lake Apshynets: off-roader has been detained in Zakarpattia. PHOTO
Law enforcement officers have detained a 47-year-old resident of the Tiachiv district, suspected of attacking tourists near the Apshynets mountain lake in the Carpathians — the man struck the victim with a stone and a walking stick.
This was reported by the Transcarpathian Regional Prosecutor’s Office, according to Censor.NET.
Circumstances of the attack
The incident involved a clash between tourists and off-road vehicle drivers near a high-altitude lake in the Carpathians. A group of men in off-road vehicles arrived at Lake Apshynets, a natural monument of local significance in the Svydovets massif. In response to the tourists’ remarks about the ban on vehicles entering the area, the suspect started an argument with one of the tourists for no reason.
During the attack, he first struck the victim with a stone and then delivered a series of blows with a metal trekking pole all over his body. The attack resulted in the complete destruction of the tourists’ tents and equipment.
Status of the investigation
Investigators are currently preparing formal charges of hooliganism (Part 4 of Article 296 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) against the detainee. The prosecution will ask the court to remand the man in custody for the duration of the investigation.
"What happened near Lake Apshynets will not go unpunished. I am personally overseeing this case. Law enforcement officers are identifying everyone involved in the attack, and each of them will be held accountable for their actions. The punishment will be inevitable and fair," emphasised Myroslav Patskan, head of the regional prosecutor’s office.
Who, according to the activists, was involved in the incident
- The anonymous ‘Guardians of the Carpathians’ page claims that those involved in the incident included tourists, as well as an alleged local resident, Yosyp Varga, who organises jeep tours; Yurii Doloh, a member of the Mostyska Town Council representing the Ukrainian Galician Party (UGP); and Volodymyr Renchka, director of the Ukrainian chapter of the international Harley-Davidson owners’ motorcycle club.
According to the activists’ estimates, the actual losses incurred to the holidaymakers amount to over 20,000 hryvnias — due to the loss of their tents, they were forced to descend immediately from the mountains to the nearest settlement so as not to be left out in the open overnight.
The victim’s condition
The victim sought medical attention, where he was diagnosed with soft tissue contusions to his back, chest, shoulder and forearm. In a comment to the publication "UP.Life", members of the community said that, after consulting with a lawyer and the police, the man decided not to file a report regarding the assault.
Details from the "Guardians of the Carpathians" community
According to "Guardians of the Carpathians", who spoke to witnesses and those affected, a white SUV bearing a sticker from the Dutch charity Protect Ukraine appeared near the lake on the evening of 23 August. A video that has been released shows the car driving through protected Alpine pine trees and over a spring.
According to eyewitnesses, the occupants of the vehicle showed clear signs of being under the influence of alcohol. After stopping, the driver walked into the lake, despite its protected status, and when tourists objected, he began swearing rudely and threatening them with physical violence.
Activists say that the man subsequently approached the tourist who had spoken to him and began tearing down tents in the camp with his bare hands. When the holidaymaker used a can of pepper spray against him, the attacker lunged at him with his fists, picked up a stone and struck the traveller on the back. Afterwards, the man went to the lake to rinse his eyes, but later returned and damaged another tent — belonging to a young woman who was not there at the time. Another eyewitness, who tried to stop him, was struck in the face with trekking poles.
According to ‘Guardians of the Carpathians’, other passengers in the off-road vehicle offered the victim a knife to ‘resolve’ the conflict, whilst the attacker himself threatened violence. Before leaving the lake, the group gave the witness 4,400 hryvnias to cover the cost of the damaged property, which he subsequently passed on to the victim.
