42. Detention, torture, extrajudicial killing.
Stepanivka (Kherson)
LOCATION: Stepanivka (Kherson)
DATE: March 27, 2022
NUMBER OF WITNESSES: 1
SUMMARY: On March 27, 2022, Russian forces detained and severely beat the Victim before bringing him to his home, where they also detained his wife, son, and mother-in-law. Russian forces tortured the Victim in the basement, looted the house, and brought the family to an occupied government building in Kherson. They were further interrogated without food or water until late at night when the Victim’s family was released. He remained in captivity under the accusation of terrorism, and his body was later found in the Dnipro River on May 22, 2022.
WITNESSES
The Witness of the incident was a female civilian and the wife of the Victim.
VICTIMS
The Victim of the incident was a male and a member of the Territorial Defence Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. He was also a highly-ranked policeman and worked at the Kherson Law Institute. The Victim was found dead with a fractured skull at the bottom of a river.
ALLEGED PERPETRATORS
as described by the Witness(es)
The perpetrators were members of the Russian military, all of whom had Russian accents. The Witness noted that one of the soldiers appeared to be Armenian. They arrived at the Witness’ house in cars marked with the letter Z.