Themes by tag: prisoners

The international forum Unbroken Justice will run for two days in Lviv, bringing together leading voices in law, human rights, and trauma recovery.

The program will begin on June 23 with a public discussion titled Justice and Time, featuring British legal scholar and author Philippe Sands alongside French psychoanalyst Beatrice Patsalides Hofmann. 

The following day, June 24, will mark the official opening of the St. Leo the Great Mental Health Center, the first facility in Ukraine specifically designed to support individuals who have endured captivity, torture, and psychological trauma. The center will also host a series of panel discussions exploring critical topics, including:

– Psychological support for victims of torture;

– Accountability for crimes against humanity;

– The prospect of establishing a tribunal for vladimir putin;

– Community resilience in the face of war. 

Among the featured speakers are neurosurgeon Henry Marsh, Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe Bjorn Berge, and Michele Goodwin, Linda D. & Timothy J. O’Neill Professor of Constitutional Law and Global Health Policy at Georgetown University Law Center.

Ukrainian human rights defender and Armed Forces officer Maksym Butkevych, who spent two years and four months in russian captivity, will also take part in the discussions.

Advance registration is required to attend the event. 

• casualties
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Lviv

Ukrainian activist Iryna Horobtsova is being transferred to women’s penal colony No.2 in the Yavas settlement of russia’s Republic of Mordovia. Yavas is located approximately 1,700 kilometers from Kherson, Horobtsova’s hometown. Her father, Volodymyr, says that the transfer is likely underway, with Iryna’s last letter dated June 10 originating from Ryazan.

According to her father, Iryna’s sentence has already taken effect, so the only remaining legal recourse is a petition for clemency.  

Iryna Horobtsova’s parents are available for interviews in Kherson or online, pending prior coordination.

Background: In August 2024, russia illegally sentenced Ukrainian citizen Iryna Horobtsova to 10 years and six months in prison. She was accused of “espionage”.

Horobtsova, a Kherson resident, worked for a Ukrainian IT company. After russian forces occupied Kherson in spring 2022, Horobtsova gained attention for social media posts documenting life under occupation, including photos with Ukrainian symbols. She dubbed her apartment a “home resistance headquarters”. On May 13, 2022, russians abducted her from her home and held her in a detention center in occupied Crimea, denying all external contact.

• prisoners
• russian crimes
• women
• Kherson

On June 7, Kyiv will host a rally and public action titled “Ours Are Not Home Yet” in support of Ukrainian soldiers who are missing or held in captivity.

The event is organized by the community of families of missing and captured servicemen from the 32nd Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ground Forces of the AFU. 

• military
• prisoners
• Kyiv

On May 28, the Media Center Ukraine will host a presentation of the Inferno project: Exposing the brutal conditions faced by Ukrainian prisoners of war

Participants:

– Yurii Kovbasa, Representative of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights in the Security and Defense Sector;

– Andrii Yusov, Deputy Head of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War;

– Yevheniia Synelnyk, Representative of the Association of Azovstal Defenders’ Families;

– Nestor Barchuk, Representative of the International Cooperation Department, 1st Corps of the Azov National Guard;

– Tetyana Katrychenko, Executive Director of the Media Initiative for Human Rights.

For reference: Inferno is a collaborative initiative led by the Association of Azovstal Defenders’ Families and the International Cooperation Department of the 1st Corps of the Azov National Guard of Ukraine. The project compiles firsthand accounts from former detainees held in notorious facilities such as Olenivka and Taganrog, as well as multiple russian detention centers. Through survivor testimonies, Inferno seeks to ensure that these war crimes are not erased from public memory and that the international community remains vigilant in demanding accountability.

• military
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

Over 60 international human rights NGOs, led by two Nobel Peace Prize laureates — the Center for Civil Liberties (Ukraine) and Memorial (russia) — have joined forces around an advocacy campaign demanding the release of all captives and the return of all children illegally deported due to russia’s war against Ukraine.

On May 20, journalists are invited to a presentation of the campaign, followed by a discussion with prominent Ukrainian human rights activists and Ukrainian government officials who advocate for prisoner release.

Among the participants are:

• Oleksandra Matviichuk, Head of the Center for Civil Liberties
• Olena Rozvadovska, Head of the Board of the Voices of Children
• Dmytro Koval, Со-Executive Director of the Truth Hounds

Registration is required for the event.

The closed event will also be attended by representatives of diplomatic missions in Ukraine, members of Ukrainian civil society working on the return of civilian and military prisoners, as well as international lawyers, media representatives and human rights activists.

• prisoners

On May 23, Kyiv will host a commemorative gathering marking the Day of the Marine Corps of Armed Forces of Ukraine, bringing together families of prisoners of war, veterans, fellow service members, and supporters from across the country.

Observed annually, Marine Corps Day honors Ukraine’s elite fighting force – soldiers who are first to respond, operate in the most dangerous conditions, and remain steadfast in their duty.

This year, the date carries added weight. For the third consecutive year, hundreds of Ukrainian marines remain in enemy captivity. These are the defenders of Mariupol, Vodiane, Pavlopil, and Shyrokyne, soldiers who followed orders in the fiercest battles and were taken prisoner. Many are still unaccounted for.

The Kyiv event will offer a space for remembrance, solidarity, and public support. The program includes:

– A formal ceremony honoring the Marines;

– A moment of silence for the fallen;

– Remarks from recently released POWs and families who have endured three years of waiting;

– A musical and spoken-word segment featuring veterans, artists, and volunteers;

– Open mic: an opportunity for attendees to share words of support;

For reference: Organized by the “Marine Corps Strength” Association

• military
• prisoners
• Kyiv

Over 60 international human rights NGOs, led by two Nobel Peace Prize laureates — the Center for Civil Liberties (Ukraine) and Memorial (russia) — have joined forces around an advocacy campaign demanding the release of all captives and the return of all children illegally deported due to russia’s war against Ukraine.

On May 20, journalists are invited to a presentation of the campaign, followed by a discussion with prominent Ukrainian human rights activists and Ukrainian government officials who advocate for prisoner release.

Among the participants are:

• Oleksandra Matviichuk, Head of the Center for Civil Liberties
• Olena Rozvadovska, Head of the Board of the Voices of Children
• Dmytro Koval, Со-Executive Director of the Truth Hounds

Registration is required for the event.

The closed event will also be attended by representatives of diplomatic missions in Ukraine, members of Ukrainian civil society working on the return of civilian and military prisoners, as well as international lawyers, media representatives and human rights activists.

• prisoners

Rusudana Pavlichenko is of Georgian descent. When the full-scale invasion began, she was abroad for her father’s funeral. For the first time in her life, Rusudana had to flee the war (the war in Abkhazia) when she was only 10 years old. She then came to Ukraine and has lived here her entire life.

Rusudana’s husband, Serhii Pavlichenko, defended Ukraine from the occupiers since 2014. He held the defense of Azovstal during the beginning of the full-scale invasion and was captured afterward. He died in a terrorist attack in Olenivka (a village in the occupied Donetsk oblast) on July 28-29, 2022. The couple had two children: 12-year-old Adeliia and 8-year-old Nazar.

Journalists can arrange to interview Rusudana in Cherkasy or online.

Currently, the family is being supported by the charitable foundation “Children of Heroes.” The foundation helps children who have lost one or both parents due to russia’s full-scale invasion. The foundation provides financial assistance, psychological support, legal support, and promotes education and development for children until they reach adulthood.

Background: On July 29, 2022, russia committed a terrorist act by detonating an explosion in a barrack of a correctional colony in Olenivka where Ukrainian prisoners of war were held. At least 50 Azovstal defenders were killed in the attack.

• dead
• military
• occupation
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• women
• Cherkasy
• Mariupol

Anatolii Levchenko is a theater professional from Mariupol who, in 2015, spearheaded a new chapter in the city’s cultural life by launching contemporary Ukrainian productions at a theater once designated as “russian.”

He and his wife, Hanna, were caregivers for their nonverbal autistic son and Hanna’s 90-year-old mother. Because of these responsibilities, the Levchenkos were unable to evacuate Mariupol quickly after the russian invasion began. They managed to leave only in May 2022. But just one day before their departure, Anatolii was detained by russian forces, following a denunciation from former colleagues in the theater who had aligned themselves with the occupying authorities.

At first, Hanna had no idea where her husband had been taken. She later learned that he had been accused of extremism and transferred to russian-occupied Donetsk. For more than 10 months, she sent him clothing, medication, and letters to the detention center. Occasionally, Anatolii was allowed to call her late at night. During this time, Hanna managed life on her own, caring for their son, sourcing food and water, and cooking over an open fire alongside neighbors.

On March 9, 2023, she received a phone call: Anatolii was being released. His health had significantly deteriorated after nearly a year in detention. That summer, the family reached Ukrainian-controlled territory, first relocating to Kropyvnytskyi. A year later, they moved to Kyiv. Today, Anatolii has resumed his work in theater.

He is available for conversations both online and in person in the capital, with prior arrangement.

For reference: The defense of Mariupol lasted 86 days. On May 20, 2022, the city fell under russian occupation. According to Human Rights Watch, at least 8,000 civilians were killed during the siege. Thousands more were injured, many lost limbs, vision, hearing, or memory, often due to blast-related head trauma. Of Mariupol’s pre-war population of 540,000, approximately 400,000 had fled by mid-May 2022.

• casualties
• culture
• occupation
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kyiv
• Mariupol

Amnesty International Ukraine, in cooperation with the Museum of the Revolution of Dignity, is launching an open-air photo exhibition entitled “Deafening Silence”, dedicated to the stories of Ukrainian prisoners of war and their families. The exhibition is based on extensive research into the rights abuses of POWs held by russia. The opening will be on May 9.

This project is part of an international campaign to raise awareness of violations of international humanitarian law and to strengthen the protection of prisoners of war by mobilizing civil society.

The purpose of the event is to highlight systematic violations of the rights of Ukrainian prisoners of war by the russian federation, to support initiatives aimed at protecting their rights, and to raise global awareness of these humanitarian challenges.

Media accreditation is required to attend.

• culture
• military
• prisoners
• Kyiv