Ukraine: Captives Describe Brutal Beatings | Human Rights Watch

Ukraine: Captives Describe Brutal Beatings | Human Rights Watch:

(Donetsk) – Self-proclaimed authorities in eastern Ukraine should immediately release people held in captivity and put an end to abductions by armed men acting on their behalf. The fate of dozens of captives remains unknown, and those released whom Human Rights Watch interviewed reported severe beatings in captivity.

“Armed men affiliated with anti-Kiev forces have been snatching up activists, journalists, and local officials,” said Anna Neistat, associate program director at Human Rights Watch. “Some who’ve been released are bruised and injured, while the fate of dozens of others is not known.”

On May 4, 2014, anti-Kiev forces abducted six men, three of them town council members, from the town of Novogradovka. They were released the following day. All had been severely beaten, and some were seriously injured.

 

Aleksandr
Vovk, member of Independent Trade Union of Ukrainian Miners from
Novogradovka, was abducted by anti-Kiev forces on May 4 and released on
May 5. While in captivity he was badly beaten by his captors.
Photograph May 5, 2014.