Count Jugendhub among the DIY clubs to have recently been ransacked by state lawmakers. Following an August incident in which Russian plainclothes officers had raided a Moscow venue called Rabitza, a similar fate befell the Kiev nightclub on October 28th.
According to Resident Advisor, eyewitnesses recounted that 50 or so uniformed, armed and masked officers barged into the 300-capacity venue at 2:00 AM when roughly 200 attendees were inside. Jugendhub cofounder Anastasiia Spyrydenko said:
They started to turn out our pockets, beat the visitors and check all men for evasion of military service and some guys were taken away. They beat people completely without reason—everyone was frightened and did not resist at all. Police used excessive physical strength, there were blood stains on the floor. Personal belongings, equipment [and] clothes were stolen.
A police report released later in the afternoon cited noise complaints from surrounding neighbors as cause for the inspection. The document revealed that a total of 17 partygoers were taken into custody on drug possession charges, while 32 others charged with draft ducking were taken to a military enlistment office and 11 minors were brought home to their parents.
Ukrainian police maintain that Jugendhub has operated without permits – a claim challenged by Kseniya Prokonova, a lawyer representing the club. In addition, the police report alleged that the bathrooms had fallen under disrepair, although attendees claim to have seen officers destroying them during the raid.
Although Jugendhub’s management has not officially discontinued operations, none of the venue’s scheduled events will take place for the foreseeable future.
Source: Mixmag
