Dmytro Bulatov leaves Ukraine for medical treatment

Ukrainian opposition activist Dmytro Bulatov, who says he was abducted and tortured in Kiev, has left the country for medical treatment.

Dmytro Bulatov has flown to Latvia. It was reported earlier that his final destination was Lithuania.

The protest leader appeared on TV last week with a gash on his face and part of his ear cut off. He said he had been held and beaten for eight days.

Dmytro Bulatov’s case became a new rallying point for protesters, who want President Viktor Yanukovych to resign.

Thousands are currently in Maidan square, a focal point for the protesters.

Viktor Yanukovych has offered a number of concessions and his cabinet quit their jobs.

But the demonstrators, many of whom want to see closer ties with the EU rather than Russia, have not been placated.

Dmytro Bulatov was a leader of a group called Automaidan, made up mainly of drivers who would protect the protest camps and blockade streets.

He went missing on January 22 and re-emerged eight days later on the outskirts of Kiev.

Dmytro Bulatov told the media he had been “crucified” by his abductors, who he could not identify other than to say they had Russian accents.

Opposition politicians Western diplomats expressed outrage at the incident.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton condemned the “deliberate targeting of organizers and participants of peaceful protests”.

On Sunday, opposition leader Vitali Klitschko said European diplomats had helped to arrange medical care outside Ukraine.

“Now everything is done in that regard to finalize everything and give him a possibility to leave abroad for further treatment,” he said.

Dmytro Bulatov left Kiev on Sunday evening on a flight to the Latvian capital Riga.

On Friday, interior ministry investigators turned up at the hospital, apparently with a court order for the detention of Dmytro Bulatov.

But protesters had already arrived and prevented the investigators from questioning him.

Officials have suggested his account of the abduction might have been fabricated.

“The only thing he has is a scratch on one of his cheeks,” Foreign Minister Leonid Kozhara told broadcaster al-Jazeera.

“It looks like the alleged story that he was kidnapped and tortured is not absolutely true.”

Ukraine’s foreign ministry later said the comments did not reflect Leonid Kozhara’s “real attitude to the tragic situation”, and said the minister wished Dmytro Bulatov a speed recovery.