When a thin man dressed in a grey sweater and black pants came into the room Kyiv’s Trade Union house on Jan. 24, everyone fell silent.All attention was focused on Mykhailo Gavryliuk, a 34-year-old construction worker from Chernivtsi and a EuroMaidan activist. He vaulted to international attention after a leaked video of him being tortured by Ukraine’s riot-control police officers went viral, with two million hits already for the YouTube video.

Officers detained Gavryliuk Jan. 22 on Hrushevskoho Street. After the video surfaced the day, police released him. He returned to EuroMaidan, where he resumted his post as part of a military unit formed by protesters to protect Independence Square from police assault.