158. Detention of village leader
Nel’hivka (Zaporizhzhia)
LOCATION: Nel’hivka (Zaporizhzhia)
DATE: April 25-May 24, 2022
NUMBER OF WITNESSES: 1
SUMMARY: Russian forces detained the Witness, a village leader, and imprisoned him for 34 days after he refused to oversee the establishment of the Russian administration in Primorsk. While detained, the Witness was subjected to psychological pressure and threatened with violence. On May 24, the Witness was released on the condition that he would not leave the community, speak ill of Russia, or resign his leadership position. However, the Witness managed to evacuate to Ukrainian-controlled territory with his mother in early June 2022.
WITNESSES
The Witness of the incident was a male civilian in his early 30s who worked as the head of the Sofiivka Community and was a resident of Nel’hivka.
VICTIMS
The Victims of the incident, in addition to the witness, were other detained civilians whom the Witness heard being tortured. One of the detained civilians was tortured to the point of dying.
ALLEGED PERPETRATORS
as described by the Witness(es)
The perpetrators included members of the Russian military and members of the internationally unrecognized “Donetsk People’s Republic” and “Luhansk People’s Republic.”