Two policemen 'forced woman to wear gas mask then raped and tortured her'

Two "beyond evil" policemen have been detained in Ukraine accused of raping and torturing a woman crime witness after forcing her to wear a gas mask.

Officers Nikolay Kuziv, 35, and Sergey Sulima, 29, both married, were held by court order for 60 days pending a major criminal investigation.

The woman, 26, had been ordered to a police station in Kagarlyk where they “put a gas mask on her, handcuffed her and shot a service weapon above her head,” alleged a statement from the State Bureau of Investigations.

The woman - named as N - was then raped repeatedly by the two officers over a period of nine hours as the officers drank vodka, it is alleged.

They took it in turns to hold down her hands while the other policeman sexually abused the screaming woman, it is alleged.

They threatened her with death, telling her they would bury her in a forest, reported Strana newspaper citing law enforcement.

The officers had sought to force the woman - who has a five-year-old child with cerebral palsy - to accept guilt for a theft she did not commit, it is alleged.

She was a witness to the theft.

The police officers also assaulted a man, threatening to rape him, forcing him on his knees, hitting him with batons and putting a gas mask on him, it is alleged.

The man suffered broken ribs and had his nose broken, according to reports.

Kuziv is married with two children and was head of the criminal investigations department.

His subordinate Sulima is married without children.

Human rights activist Alina Bodnar posted: “How could this be done when (Kuziv) has a family - children, a wife, parents?

“How did nothing in that head stop him from committing crimes?

“How were their colleagues silent? Who exactly heard the woman's screams?”

National police chairman Igor Klymenko has disbanded the police unit to which the detained officers belonged.

Critics say the case shows the failure of police reform in Ukraine.

"This story is beyond evil," said Ukrainian lawmaker Andriy Osadchuk.

Kyiv region police chief Andriy Nebytov branded the detained officers “two freaks” who had no achievements in the force.

Calling them “garbage”, he posted that they “did not disclose a single high-profile crime or detain a single dangerous criminal.

"They simply spat in the face of all the policemen who are fighting crime around the clock, protecting public order, trying to gain the trust and support of citizens in law enforcement."

They were “shameful and disgusting”.

Anton Herashchenko, the country’s deputy interior minister, posted pictures of both officers behind bars.

He posted: "Trial and fair punishment in the form of long-term imprisonment is awaiting them.”

Kuziv’s lawyer Dmitry Matyushenko told reporters: "He does not plead guilty, because all these circumstances are far-fetched.

“No-one witnessed these events.

“The case was opened only on the basis of the victim's statement.

“I cannot tell all the circumstances."