Ukrainian Policeman Suspected In High-Profile Rape Case Arrested

Rape victim Iryna Krashkova speaks to reporters in a hospital ward in Mykolayiv.

KYIV -- A court in Ukraine's southern city of Mykolayiv has arrested a police officer suspected in a gang rape.

The court decided on July 3 that Lieutenant Yevhen Dryzhak must stay in pretrial detention at least until August 15.

The decision came after hundreds of residents of village of Vradiyivka stormed the local police department on July 1-2, demanding justice for a 29-year-old local woman who was brutally raped last week.

Three suspects, including two policemen, were apprehended then. Dryzhak was later released.

Last year, violent protests hit the region when a teenage girl died after being raped, strangled, and set on fire in Mykolayiv.

The case shocked many Ukrainians and sparked protests after it was revealed that police initially released two of the suspects, whose parents were former regional government officials.