To See His Mother and Surrender Back to Life Imprisonment

17.10.2023 Andriy Didenko

This article was translated using artificial intelligence. Please note that the translation may not be entirely accurate.View the original article

The subject of our report found himself at the mercy of the occupiers in Kherson. Despite beatings and abuse, he refused to cooperate with the Russians. Against the backdrop of the Ukrainian army’s offensive, he gained his freedom for the first time in 15 years, but decided he would surrender to the authorities after fulfilling one condition.

I am from the Donetsk region, and I live in Kramatorsk. In November 2021, the administration of Pre-trial Detention Centre No. 6 in Bakhmut sent me to Snihurivka Correctional Colony in the Mykolaiv region (MVK No. 5) to re-register my disability status and undergo preventive treatment for tuberculosis.

On 1 March, when it became clear that we were under occupation, the Penitentiary Service of Ukraine did not evacuate me or the other 96 convicts. We were simply abandoned in a life- and health-threatening situation until 28 May 2022.

We were stuck not just in occupied territory, but in an active combat zone. On numerous occasions, there were incoming strikes on the territory of the institution, though we did not know who fired them. We went to the exercise yard as usual, according to the schedule. Mortar shells were falling near the exercise yard. The Russians were even zeroing in on the water tower – or so the administration said.

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To See His Mother and Surrender Back to Life Imprisonment