172. Detainment, interrogation, beating, and displacement of priest
Melitopol’ (Zaporizhzhia)
LOCATION: Melitopol’ (Zaporizhzhia)
DATE: November 1, 2022
NUMBER OF WITNESSES: 1
SUMMARY: On a trip to Berdyansk on November 22, 2022, the Witness was stopped at a checkpoint by Russian forces and interrogated for 5 hours. Over the following days, he was then frequently threatened and pressured to leave his position at the church. On November 25, Russian forces searched his church and adjacent residence, detained, threatened and beat him, and expelled him from Russian-controlled territory.
WITNESSES
The Witness of the incident was a male civilian in his mid-60s, who was a priest of a Greek Catholic church.
VICTIMS
The Victim of the incident was the Witness mentioned above.
ALLEGED PERPETRATORS
as described by the Witness(es)
The perpetrators included Russian soldiers who wore black uniforms, FSB officers, and a Russian soldier who wore civilian clothing. All of the perpetrators wore masks.