torture
Memories of Halyna Haiova, a torture survivor of the infamous Izolyatsia prison
Halyna Haiova, a senior nurse from the city of Dokuchaievsk, Donetsk region, was arrested by representatives of the so-called “Donetsk People’s Republic” (“DPR”) at her workplace on October 14, 2016. She was accused of having pro-Ukrainian views and helping the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The woman was held in captivity for nearly sixteen months, most of […]
Forced filming in propaganda: How Russians use civilian hostages to strengthen their power
Since the full-scale invasion, the number of civilians who have been victims of illegal detention and subsequent imprisonment by the Russians is measured in thousands. According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs, as of October 2023, the official register contained over 28,000 citizens missing under special circumstances. Some of these people are civilians who […]
Mariupol resident, Mariana Checheliuk’s health deteriorated significantly due to captivity
Mariana Checheliuk, a 24-year-old police officer from Mariupol, has suffered a significant deterioration in her health and immune system due to her extended stay in captivity. In August 2023, she was transferred from a prison in Taganrog to Mariupol, where she is still being held. Mariana’s mother, Natalia Checheliuk, told ZMINA about this. According to […]
Torture in the occupied territories: global consequences of terror
ZMINA Human Rights Center has been documenting war crimes committed by representatives of the Russian Federation since the beginning of the large-scale invasion of Ukraine. In particular, it interviews victims of arbitrary detention, torture, and ill-treatment. Unfortunately, the practice of committing these crimes remains widespread and systemic. On December 7, Prosecutor General of Ukraine Andriy […]
Three stories of women taken by Russians as civilian hostages from Kherson
Olha and Svitlana told ZMINA about how Russian occupying forces took prisoners, hastily prepared new cells for them, and held civilian hostages on the occupied left bank of the Kherson region
A typical day in a Russian prison (a diary of a civilian hostage)
ZMINA has obtained a diary written by one of the Kremlin’s prisoners, Dmytro (name changed for security reasons), which he secretly kept throughout his imprisonment. We also spoke with Yevgen Yamkovyi and Viacheslav Zavalnyi, who learned firsthand what the modern Russian penitentiary system is like
A story of an elderly man from Balakliya on a 12-day hunger strike in Russian captivity
Russian occupying forces took 73-year-old Viktor Illinsky from his home in Balakliya, Kharkiv region, in early August 2022. They wrapped a jacket around his head, put him in a military jeep, and drove him to the local police station. He was held with other civilian hostages, including another man in his 70s, in a cramped […]
Three stories about the abuse and inhumane conditions for Ukrainian women prisoners
During the war, Russian occupying forces abducted and held in prisons not only Ukrainian men but also women, regardless of age and status. Women are also subjected to torture, intimidation, and horrific conditions. They are accused of terrorism, adjusting fire, and collaborating with the Ukrainian armed forces. According to the Ministry of Reintegration of Temporarily […]
A resident of Nova Kakhovka, abducted three times, was found in one of the Simferopol detention centers
Leonid Kondratsky, a resident of Nova Kakhovka, Kherson region, has been held in the Simferopol Detention Center No. 2 for over a year in the temporarily occupied Crimea. Following Russia’s full-scale military invasion and occupying parts of the Kherson region of Ukraine, the man was kidnapped three times. The last time, he was never released, […]
‘Women are not beaten here in Ukraine, but our hands are free’: How Russians held women in seized TDC in Kherson
At different times, at least 30 local women were held at a temporary detention center (TDC) in Kherson, including a policewoman, a housewife, a cadet of a military educational institution, and a head teacher of a gymnasium. This is described in the analytical report "‘Women's cells’ of Kherson torture chamber" which was prepared by Human Rights Centre ZMINA specialists based on testimonies of victims.
Gafarov-Shyring list: how Russia is killing political prisoners in Crimea
Tetyana Pechonchyk emphasized the importance of publicizing information about political prisoners. In her opinion, it is essential to tell the stories of illegally imprisoned Ukrainian citizens, spread them on social media and abroad, put pressure on Russia, initiate new resolutions of the European Parliament, and raise issues at the level of the OSCE and UN bodies so that Ukrainian citizens, political prisoners at risk with complex diseases, are released first and unconditionally
Mariupol policewoman Mariana Chechelyuk’s health has deteriorated significantly over the year of captivity
The health of Mariana Chechelyuk, a 22-year-old investigator from besieged Mariupol in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, whom the Russians took prisoner during the evacuation from Azovstal, has deteriorated significantly despite the guarantees of the United Nations and the Red Cross. For a year, the occupiers transported the woman from one prison to another, subjected […]
126 Ukrainian women are in Russian captivity, most of them civilians
As of the end of June 2023, 126 women are still in Russian captivity. This news was reported by the Ministry of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories and the National Information Bureau. “According to the National Information Bureau, as of the end of June 2023, 126 women are in Russian captivity. Of these, 46 […]
A story of a man spent two months in captivity in the Russian pre-trial detention center with other civilians and volunteers
Yevhen Yamkovyi, a resident of Kahovka, a city in the Kherson region on the left bank of the Dnipro river occupied by Russian forces, was detained at the checkpoint “Armyansk” in the northern part of the Crimean peninsula on January 6, 2023. Then, he was transferred to the pre-trial detention center No. 2 in Simferopol, […]
A witness account of abduction and torture in Hornostaivka village, Kherson region
Serhii, a resident of the Kherson region, was kidnapped from his home on August 3, 2022. At that time, the Southern part of Ukraine, located on both banks of the Dnipro River, had been under the control of the Russian occupying forces for almost five months. At first, the man was kept at the commandant’s […]
Torture as a policy of suppressing Ukraine’s resistance to the Russian invasion – Report
ZMINA Human Rights Center collected evidence of how Ukrainians were kidnapped, interrogated, and tortured en masse by Russian occupying forces during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to human rights defenders, the Russian military treats the entire population of the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine as a threat. Torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading […]
Volunteer Yaroslav Zhuk stated that he was tortured in the Rostov pre-trial detention center
Yaroslav Zhuk made a statement about torture with a shocker and brutal beating by officials of the Rostov-on-Don pre-trial detention center as soon as the court hearing in his case based on trumped-up charges began in early June of this year. Zhuk is a car mechanic and a resident of Melitopol, a city in the […]
OHCHR documented widespread practices of torture and ill-treatment of Ukrainian civilian detainees by Russian armed forces
Of 38 released civilians (34 men, 4 women) interviewed by OHCHR in the mentioned period, 33 individuals reported having various forms of torture or ill-treatment inflicted on them while in detention, in order to force them to confess to having cooperated with the Ukrainian armed forces, to force them to cooperate with Russian armed forces or affiliated armed groups, or simply to intimidate them
Колонки
What triggers world wars?
Forced filming in propaganda: How Russians use civilian hostages to strengthen their power
Torture in the occupied territories: global consequences of terror
Life without basics: Struggle of Zakhar’s Family in war-torn Mariupol
