KIEV, Dec. 28 – Three activists involved in a recent anti-government street protest in Kiev aimed against increasing tax pressure on small businesses were arrested on Tuesday, a newspaper reported.

Another protester, Oleksandr Mandych, was released on Tuesday after three days of detention by police, and is currently hiding at an undisclosed location, Ukrayinska Pravda reported citing Oleksandr Danyliuk, a leader of the protest.

The three activists were charged with “damaging granite tiles at Maydan Nezalezhnosti,” a downtown square in Kiev that was the venue of the two-week anti-tax protest late November, Danyliuk said.

The developments underscore a quickly rising pressure against opposition groups and activists as President Viktor Yanukovych has been working hard to consolidate power in Ukraine.

Yanukovych’s main political rival, Yulia Tymoshenko, a former prime minister, is also under investigation for alleged misuse of environmental money towards paying out social security and pensions.

The activists were charged for “damaging property” by putting 132 metal rods into granite tiles to erect a tent camp, the epicenter of the anti-government protest rally, which had lasted for two weeks.

Under pressure from the protesters, Yanukovych vetoed a controversial Tax Code, submitting amendments to Parliament that had alleviated tax pressure on small businesses. Days later, under police supervision, the rally was dispersed and tents were removed from the square.