In Poland, the police beat a Ukrainian man to death in a detoxification center

Video footage from surveillance cameras is being published by the Onet news outlet.

According to reports, Dmitro Nikiforenko was originally from Vinnytsia, Ukraine, and worked in construction in Poland. On July 30, 2021, he was returning home on a bus with colleagues after a barbecue where everyone had consumed alcohol. He fell asleep on the bus, and the police claimed he exhibited inappropriate behavior. They sent him to a detoxification center, where he died as a result of abuse.

The Polish publication also published a report for the court by retired police inspector Tomasz Macuga. This report was based on an analysis of surveillance camera footage. At 22:41, four individuals began to use force against the Ukrainian, and by 23:06, medical personnel started resuscitation efforts but were unable to save him.

According to Macuga’s report, the video clearly shows that at 22:41, four people carried Nikiforenko by his arms and legs into a room, placing him on a bed. From that moment on, the man was constantly held by detoxification center employees and police officers, they pressed him with a truncheon, pushed him onto the bed, and struck him. In the footage, it is evident that Dmitro was lying motionless, and at one point, a police officer sat on his back.

Nikiforenko’s death was initially kept hidden. His relatives were only informed that he had died during police intervention due to cardiac arrest. Only after the publication by Wyborcza, an internal police investigation was opened, and law enforcement officers who were involved in the torture were suspended and dismissed from service.

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