

Protesters in Kiev's #Euromaidan camp report that yesterday's horrific violence — which saw at least 25 protesters killed by police — has continued to escalate. The #IT_Namet tent — a fixture in Euromaidan, offering nonviolent IT support to protesters and journalists — was targeted by government security forces who burned it to the ground, beating Alexei Lymarenko, one of the tent's volunteers to a state of near death. A journalist, Veremei Vyacheslav, was killed by police.

Here is a statement released by IT_Namet, asking the international technology community to support their efforts:

"From the very beginning #IT_Namet was built with the aim of a peaceful protest. Members of the IT-community never had weapons, except for tablets and smartphones connected to the Internet. So, the real purpose of security forces actions was not anti-terrorism, as it was claimed, but the destruction of unarmed people. We regret that tonight IT professional Lymarenko Alexei suffered. He was together with Ukrainian journalist Vyacheslav Veremei. Vyacheslav was killed, and Alex, who was beaten nearly to death, has serious traumas of his face. Although # IT_Namet was destroyed tonight, our beliefs and our support for peaceful protest remained unchanged. The "IT spіlnota" (IT community), which united people representing the IT industry, is expanding its activity beyond # IT_Namet. "IT spіlnota" will set out to spot the violence of authorities, to save people's lives. Now every member of the IT-community can itself make his/her choice on the tools to protect their rights and the rights of people who yesterday were violated by their summary execution. We highly appreciate any actual support of IT-community abroad."

Tech Protester in Kiev Badly Beaten, Journalist Killed, As 'IT Tent' Is Burned By Police [Mike Butcher/Tech Crunch]

See also:

EuroMaidan: a Facebook revolution in the streets of Kiev

