From the first days of the occupation of Melitopol, the Russian military used violence and persecution of civilians. In February 2023, a local woman was detained during a search at work and in her apartment. The reason was the Ukrainian flag and personal records. She was threatened with 20 years in prison, after which she began to be repeatedly transferred between different temporary detention centers in Pryazovsky, Yakymovka, and Veseloye.

During her detentions, her personal belongings were confiscated, she was subjected to humiliating interrogations, and psychological pressure was applied. The conditions of detention varied: from minimally acceptable in Pryazovsky to harsh and unsanitary in Yakymovka and Veseloye. In these detention centers, she met other women who were abducted by the occupiers on far-fetched grounds — in particular, because of a photo on her phone, a denunciation from neighbors, or simply a pro-Ukrainian position. Some of them were sentenced to long terms, others were deported.

In the spring of 2024, the woman herself was forcibly taken out of the occupied territory and deported through Verkhniy Lars. Other civilians were in the minibus with her, including elderly people with disabilities and a mother with a child. Today, she is back in Ukraine and testifies to her experiences: “I was tortured, kept in cells for weeks, and finally kicked out of my house. They are trying to break all of us who have the courage to remain Ukrainians.”

This testimony is yet another confirmation that the occupation authorities systematically use abductions, fabricated charges, and deportations against civilians.

This documentation project is supported by the Norwegian Helsinki Committee (NHC). The views and conclusions presented in this publication are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of the NHC.

‍