This past week, prominent Ukrainian lawyer Yevheniya Zakrevska announced that she would go on a hunger strike. Zakrevska represents the families of the Heavenly Hundred, the protesters who were killed during the Euromaidan Revolution. She announced her commitment on live TV on November 21st, which marked the 6th anniversary since the protests first began.

The Euromaidan Revolution lasted for three months between 2013 and 2014. When then-Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych decided to end talks on a Ukraine-European Association Agreement, pro-European activists flocked to Independence Square in Kyiv by the thousands. What began as a peaceful protest soon escalated to a violent conflict between civilians and local authorities. Police employed brutal tactics in attempts to depress protesters. Thousands were injured and over one-hundred protesters, who have now become known as the Heavenly Hundred, were killed in the confrontations.

Recently, a reform in Ukraine’s public prosecution has put the Maidan killings cases on hold. Initially, the investigations were handled by the Special Department for the Maidan cases under the Prosecutor General’s Office. But, the cases were recently transferred to the State Bureau of Investigation, a body that oversees the inquiry into crimes committed by top officials, law enforcers, military officers, and judges. Some of the cases were also transferred to the Security Service of Ukraine and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau. More than thirty law enforcement officers, who have been charged with or remain suspects in Maidan crimes, continue to work as members of authority. Many activists and lawyers, including Zakrevska, are concerned that this transfer will compromise the progress of the Maidan cases. It is unclear who will be responsible for representing the cases and whether or not the inquiries will resume as they stand. In other words, the transfer could destroy the accomplishments made by lawyers, who have been working with victims of the Euromaidan Revolution for years. During a recent interview, Zakrevska stated, “… the investigators of the newly created department probably are good investigators. However, they have nothing to do with the Maidan cases.”

Zakrevska and others are demanding an amendment to the State Bureau of Investigation law, which would allow lawyers of the Prosecutor General’s Office to continue their work on the Maidan cases as agents of the new law-enforcement body. Zakrevska decided to go on a hunger strike after the amendment was absent from the discussions of a recent Parliamentary session. Since her announcement, 16 people have joined Zakrevska in the hunger strike. The amendment has since been approved by Parliament’s Law Enforcement Committee, receiving 18 out of 19 member votes, but, it has yet to be approved by Parliament. Parliament will vote to approve the legislation in early December.

Lawyers working on the Maidan cases have made tremendous progress in holding law-enforcers accountable for their crimes. All those responsible for the killings have been identified, five perpetrators have been charged for their crimes, and the police officers who fled Ukraine have been placed on wanted lists. Hopefully, the Ukrainian government passes the amendment, so  lawyers like Zakrevska can continue providing justice to the Maidan victims.