Mass abductions of Ukrainians by the Russian military. Victoria Andrusha, a teacher released from captivity, testifies about Russian torture camps
The Center for Civil Liberties (CСL) invites journalists to a special press conference dedicated to the large-scale problem of mass abductions of Ukrainians by the Russian military after the start of large-scale aggression on February 24, 2022.
During the event, CCL experts and former prisoner Victoria Andrusha, who was abducted by the Russian military in March of this year, will talk about places of illegal detention of Ukrainians in the occupied territory and in the Russian Federation; also about the conditions of their stay in places of deprivation of liberty.
Date: October 14, 2022
Time: 15:00 Kyiv time
Location: will be notified to registered event participants
Questions for discussion:
- places of illegal detention of Ukrainians in captivity on the territory of the Russian Federation
- the conditions of detention of Ukrainians in places of captivity on the territory of Russia
- testimony of Victoria Andrusha, who managed to be released after more than half a year of her imprisonment
Speakers:
- Natalia Yashchuk, project manager of the Center for Civil Liberties, press conference moderator
- Mykhailo Savva, doctor of political sciences, professor, member of the Expert Council of the Center for Civil Liberties
- Oleksandra Romantsova, executive director of the Center for Civil Liberties
- Victoria Andrusha, a teacher of mathematics, she was held captive by the Russians for more than half a year
Accreditation is mandatory.
Accreditation for mass media: Anna Trushova, anna.trushova@ccl.org.ua.
Registration is mandatory via the link: https://bit.ly/3yzNXkh
Broadcast will be available on the ССL’s social network pages in Facebook, Twitter
Information note
The Center for Civil Liberties (CCL) is a human right non-governmental organization founded in 2007. Winner of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize.
After the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war in 2014, the CCL has been documenting war crimes committed by the Russian military in the occupied territory of Ukraine. The Center also helps in the liberation of captives and political prisoners of the Kremlin.
During the occupation of Ukrainian territories, the Russian invasion forces kidnapped and continue to kidnap civilians, who are then illegally detained by the Russian authorities in places of forced detention both in the occupied territories of Ukraine and in the Russian Federation.
The exact number of Ukrainian civilians who are deprived of their freedom is unknown. In June 2022, the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, the Minister of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories Iryna Vereshchuk stated about 1.5 thousand illegally detained Ukrainian civilians: “There are more than one and a half thousand civilians in Russian prisons – they are in Rostov, Kursk, they are in SIZO, they sit as prisoners of war, although they should not be prisoners.
Detention, transfer to the Russian Federation and forced detention of Ukrainian civilians is a brutal violation of their rights and creates extremely high risks to people’s lives and health, and is a humiliation of their dignity.
The Russian Federation violates the norms of international humanitarian law by holding Ukrainian civilians in captivity. These people should be released unconditionally and without exchange for Russian prisoners of war.
