The occupiers' torture chambers turned Crimea into a torture camp

The aggressor country Russia has been using torture as a tool to suppress resistance in the occupied territories of Crimea since 2014. The victims are both political prisoners and pro-Ukrainian residents - they are kidnapped, tortured, and held in basements and colonies without medical care.

This was reported by the press service of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center.

As the press service reminded, June 26 is the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. On this day, it is important to remember that Russia began to systematically use torture in the occupied Crimea in 2014.

The first known victim was Reshat Ametov - on March 3, 2014, he was abducted during a single picket against the occupation in the center of Simferopol. 12 days later, his body was found with traces of brutal torture: duct tape on his head, handcuffs on his hands, stab wounds. He was survived by three young children.

The same year, a student Edem Asanov was found hanged with injuries. His family did not dare to publicly report the torture out of fear for his sister.

Torture and ill-treatment have become commonplace in pre-trial detention centers, colonies and during detention. Political prisoners are regularly thrown into pre-trial detention centers, and their complaints, including those about the lack of medical care, are ignored.

Due to impunity and the sluggish reaction of the world, this practice has spread to other occupied territories - with even greater cruelty. According to the Crimean Tatar Resource Center, at least 8 torture chambers have been recorded in the temporarily occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. There, the Russians keep people in inhumane conditions, torture, interrogate, and abuse them.

There are also reports of "re-education" basements, such as the one at school No. 17 in Henichesk, where people are forced to shout propaganda slogans under threats of beatings or disappearance.

In general, there are several types of torture and violence by the Russian Federation:

• abductions followed by torture and murder;
• Torture in prisons and colonies;
• denial of medical care;
• harsh conditions of transfer, when people are transported in cages without stopping;
• mass detentions and "re-education";
• militarization of children and coercion to support the war.

The Crimean Tatar Resource Center condemned Russia's crimes and called on the international community to increase pressure on the aggressor state to protect the lives of Crimean Tatars and all those who have not broken under the occupation.

In addition, more than 1,500 cases of torture of civilians during the Russian occupation were recorded in the Kherson region. Law enforcement officers are investigating about 50 deaths from torture and have already notified more than a hundred people of suspicion, including Russian military, FSB agents and local collaborators. At least 13 torture chambers have been recorded in Kherson region.

Анна Бальчінос