France detains Ukrainian suspected of torture in Donetsk prison called “Izolyatsia”

France has detained a Ukrainian citizen suspected of involvement in the torture of people in the illegal Donetsk prison "Izolyatsia".

This was reported by the Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko.

According to the investigation, in 2017-2019, a citizen of Ukraine voluntarily cooperated with the so-called Ministry of State Security of the "DPR".

Former prisoners say that the suspect was an assistant to the head of an illegal prison in temporarily occupied Donetsk. According to them, he participated in the torture of prisoners, treated them cruelly, exerted psychological pressure, forced confessions, and humiliated people. At least nine victims have been identified so far.

In 2021, when the investigation against him was completed in Ukraine and the case was transferred to court, the man left for France and tried to obtain refugee status there.

Ukrainian prosecutors, the NGO Truth Hounds, and other human rights activists appealed to their French colleagues regarding the man. They opened criminal proceedings and, together with Ukrainian prosecutors, interviewed the victims. The Ukrainian side also provided additional materials to strengthen the evidence base.

The suspect was detained. At the request of the French National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutorʼs Office, he was taken into custody and charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity. The investigation is currently being conducted under the supervision of an investigating judge of the specialized unit of the Paris Court.

• This is the second case of the detention abroad of people involved in war crimes in Ukraine. The first was the sentence in Finland of a Russian militant who was sentenced to life imprisonment. The appeal of this decision is currently in its final stages.

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