Torturer from Donetsk’s “Izolyatsia” Prison Detained in France

A man implicated in the torture of prisoners at the illegal Donetsk prison “Izolyatsia” has been detained in France.

This was reported by Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko.

The arrest was carried out as part of cooperation between Ukrainian prosecutors and French law enforcement agencies. The man is suspected of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity.

According to the investigation, between 2017 and 2019, the Ukrainian citizen voluntarily collaborated with the so-called “DPR Ministry of State Security.” Former prisoners identify him as an assistant to the head of the “Izolyatsia” prison in occupied Donetsk.

The victims claim that the suspect participated in the torture of prisoners. He is also accused of cruel treatment, psychological pressure, and coercion to extract confessions.

The investigation has already identified at least nine victims. Some of them have given testimony to French and Ukrainian law enforcement agencies.

In 2021, after the completion of the pre-trial investigation in Ukraine, the suspect left the country. After fleeing, he attempted to obtain refugee status in France.

Following appeals from the Ukrainian side and human rights organizations, including Truth Hounds, French law enforcement opened a separate criminal case. Ukraine provided additional case materials to strengthen the evidence base.

At the request of France’s National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office, the suspect was taken into custody. The investigation is being conducted by a specialized unit of the Paris Court.

The Office of the Prosecutor General noted that this is already the second case of individuals involved in war crimes against Ukrainians being detained abroad.

In the first case, it was Yan Petrovsky—one of the leaders of the “Rusich” Special Forces Group. The Helsinki District Court sentenced the Russian to life in prison on charges of committing war crimes during the war against Ukraine while fighting on the side of pro-Russian terrorist groups.

Petrovsky is known as a terrorist and member of the Russian neo-Nazi group DSHRG “Rusich,” who participated in hostilities against Ukraine in 2014. In September, the unit ambushed Ukrainian “Aidar” fighters near Schyastya, where the Nazis cut off the ears of some of the dead.