Mariano García Calatayud

Volunteer, Spanish citizen. Kherson

Mariano García Calatayud was abducted by Russian occupiers on March 19, 2022 in Kherson. Mariano had been living in Ukraine since 2014 and was a regular volunteer, delivering food and supplies to the «gray zone«. Mariano openly attended pro-Ukrainian rallies in the front rows and supported the people of Kherson. He was taken at the gates of his home: two unidentified men in civilian clothes and balaclavas hit Mario in the stomach and put him in a dark blue car with no license plates. For the locals, this vehicle was familiar — it was often used to transport abducted civilians. Madrid has discussed Mariano’s case with Moscow, but Russia stubbornly refuses to recognize the detention. According to the latest information from human rights activists, Mariano is being held in a pretrial detention center in Simferopol. According to unofficial reports, currently Mariano is in pretrial detention center number 1 of the Rostov region.