Three people have died after overnight clashes in Ukraine between state forces and opposition protesters. The government has attacked protest camps in Kiev since thousands defied a state ban on rallies over the weekend. Demonstrators have begun receiving text messages on their cellphones informing them of taking part in an illegal “disturbance.” Kenneth Roth, the executive director of Human Rights Watch, called on the Ukraine government to respect the right to protest.

Kenneth Roth: “Our principal concern is that neither the police nor the government use the outbreak of violence by a tiny minority of the demonstrators as an excuse to crack down on the vast majority of the demonstrators who continue to protest peacefully. The Ukraine in this rushed legislative effort has adopted a series of new laws trying to stifle the protests. The people of the Ukraine showed this weekend that they have no intention of taking that line down.”