Law enforcement officers have reported suspicions to the former head of Taganrog Pre-trial Detention Center No. 2 in the Rostov region of the Russian Federation. According to the investigation, he gave orders to torture Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna.
The National Police reports this without specifying the journalistʼs name, but from the details it becomes clear that it is about Viktoria.
The investigation says that it was during the period when the suspect was in charge of the pre-trial detention center that a system of repression was organized there against illegally detained Ukrainian citizens, including civilians.
Among the victims is Viktoriya Roshchyna, who was detained by Russian troops in the temporarily occupied territory of the Zaporizhzhia region and transferred to this detention center.
There, the journalist was subjected to systematic torture, humiliation, and threats. She was restricted in her access to medical care, drinking water, and food, and was also deprived of the opportunity to sleep or sit during the day. In addition, physical punishment and psychological pressure were applied, with the requirement to cooperate with the pre-trial detention centerʼs administration. It was the then-chief who gave such orders.
He knowingly violated the norms of the Geneva Convention and other international treaties — the man knew about the journalistʼs civilian status and the protection guaranteed by international humanitarian law.
Law enforcement officers documented the circumstances of the crime, collected witness statements, reconstructed the chronology of the illegal transfer and detention of the victim, and recorded violations of international humanitarian law. The defendantʼs actions are qualified as a war crime in accordance with international standards.
The suspect was charged with mistreatment of civilians and faces up to 12 years in prison.
The capture and death of Viktoria Roshchyna
Viktoria Roshchyna was first captured by the Russians in March 2022. She was traveling from Zaporizhzhia to Mariupol, but ended up in occupied Berdyansk, where she was held for 10 days. There, the journalist was forced to record a video saying that she did not blame Russia.
A year later, on August 3, 2023, Roshchyna disappeared in the temporarily occupied territories from where she was supposed to report. After August 3, Victoria did not get in touch. In May 2024, Russia confirmed that it was again holding her captive.
On October 10, it became known that Roshchyna died during a transfer from Taganrog to Moscow. The cause of her death and when it happened were not reported.
The GUR representative Andriy Yusov told Babel that Ukraine already had agreements on Roshchynaʼs return home, and she was supposed to return to Ukraine in the near future.
On October 11, the Prosecutor Generalʼs Office further qualified the criminal proceedings opened into her disappearance, adding Part 2 of Article 438 of the countryʼs Criminal Code — violation of the laws and customs of war, combined with premeditated murder.
Roshchynaʼs body was returned to Ukraine in late February 2025. She was identified through DNA testing. According to the Prosecutor Generalʼs Office, numerous signs of torture and ill-treatment were found on the journalistʼs body. Due to the condition of the body, it was not possible to determine the cause of death.
The international organization Forbidden Stories found out that the journalistʼs body was returned without some internal organs. Presumably, they wanted to hide the cause of her death. Later, the Prosecutor Generalʼs Office reported that they found numerous injuries on the journalistʼs body — bone fractures, hemorrhages in various parts of the body, a broken rib.
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