“Reporters Without Borders” published an investigation into the abduction of UNIAN journalist Dmytro Hylyuk by the Russians

Author:
Oleksiy Yarmolenko
Date:

The Reporters Without Borders organization published an investigation into the abduction of UNIAN journalist Dmytro Hylyuk by the Russians. Russia continues to deny that it is being held.

This is stated on the website of the organization.

Hylyuk was captured on March 3, 2022, in the village of Kozarovychi, north of Kyiv. He was detained together with his father — but the father was released after eight days. The journalist was kept in various places that the Russians turned into prisons in Kyiv region. In particular, Hylyuk was seen at the airport in Hostomel, where detainees were kept in huge industrial refrigerators.

At the end of March — the beginning of April, the Russians retreated from the Kyiv region and took the prisoners with them. But Hylyuk ended up in Russia even earlier. Ukrainian intelligence officer Yurii, who was released from captivity, claims that he saw Khylyuk as early as March 21, 2022, in pre-trial detention center No. 2 in the city of Novozybkov, Bryansk region of Russia.

Another former Ukrainian prisoner said that he was held in a cell next to Hylyuk in April 2022. In total, Reporters Without Borders received the testimony of at least five different people who saw Khylyuk in the pre-trial detention center in Novozybkov. They also claim that the Russians routinely torture and beat prisoners. They accused the journalist of "Ukrainian propaganda and work against Russia."

At the end of February 2023, the organization gained access to a source in the pre-trial detention center in Novozybkov, which has access to all the cells of the old building. But it claims that the journalist has not been seen in this particular building since January. Therefore, it is currently unknown whether he was transferred to another building on the territory of the pre-trial detention center or taken to another place.

Russia assures that it knows nothing about the journalist. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation refuses to comment on Khylyukʼs detention and does not allow representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross access to the prisoners. The Investigative Committee of Russia also says that there are no cases against the journalist, he is not detained or prosecuted. In total, Hylyuk is included in the list of 123 Ukrainian civilians who were captured by the Russians in Kyiv region and are still being held in Russia.