A former juvenile detention center that was taken by the Russians in March is said to have been transformed into a prison. Mostly men were imprisoned who refused to cooperate with the Russians or who showed resistance.
A few weeks after the intake, the screaming would have started, according to neighbors and local shopkeepers. The neighbors saw – through their balconies or through their windows – how men were dragged in with bags over their heads. They also saw some of the bodies being transported back outside. Motionless. “Sometimes they came out completely battered and disoriented,” said Ira, who runs a kiosk near the juvenile detention center.
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I was lucky, but my cellmates were badly beaten. I still sleep badly because I keep thinking about the constant screaming
Retired Vitaly Serdiuk also ended up in prison. After all, his son serves in the Ukrainian army and the Russians had found out. They brutally raided Serdiuk’s house and shot around as soon as neighbors started protesting. Serdiuk was taken away and did not return home until four days later. He is said to have been told several times that the beatings were his son’s fault. The old man was so badly battered that his wife was afraid to leave him alone for two months.
Zhenia Dremo, an IT specialist who has been stationed at a checkpoint since the start of the war, was also taken to prison. The reason? He had no cigarettes to give to Russian soldiers. “They only beat me a little,” says Dremo. “I was lucky, but my cellmates were badly beaten.” In addition, someone would have been electrocuted for two hours. “Because of the constant screaming, which I keep thinking about, I still sleep badly at night.”