Oleg Davigora04:32, 23.09.23

Two out of five Britons released last year described their struggle to rebuild their lives after being tortured in captivity.

Two British prisoners of war described their treatment by Russian “savages” as worse than that of ISIS militants. They announced this on the anniversary of their release from Russian captivity , writes  The Times.

“While in captivity, they were forced to make hostage-style videos pleading for their release. They were beaten and fed malnutrition. They slept in windowless cells filled with 30 inmates. They were stabbed and electrocuted. They wore clothes covered in lice. , and were abused when their families desperately tried to free them from captivity. They were subjected to staged executions. They were forced to sing the Russian national anthem. Their toilet was a plastic bottle,” the newspaper writes.

John Harding, like others, suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and insomnia. His cell was constantly monitored by cameras. In captivity, whenever he fell asleep, a guard was sent to wake him up. Every time he closes his eyes, one specific beating comes to mind.

“One time they put me in a cell. Four guys came down, opened the cell door, put a bag over my head, took me out and beat me for 20-25 minutes. They beat the crap out of me. They never asked me a single question. They didn’t need information “, he said.

As the Times writes, as a result of the beating, Harding’s tailbone and all the ribs of his chest were broken. Before coming to Ukraine, he voluntarily participated in the fight against the Kurds in Syria, fighting ISIS.

“I would say the brutality of the Russian regular army is worse than that of ISIS,” he said. “I was in Syria fighting ISIS and the Russian army turned ISIS into a bunch of goddamn Boy Scouts. It took me a while to realize that.”

Another soldier, Eslin, suffered humiliation while in prison when he was handcuffed to interview propagandist Graham Phillips, a former civil servant also from Nottingham.

Suffering from severe rationing during his captivity, he has put on a lot of weight since his release. His psychologist believes that the excessive consumption is a natural reaction to the hardships he endured in captivity, where he was given a crust of bread every day.

Of all the tortures to which he was subjected, the most difficult were psychological – the constant threat of execution and propaganda videos filmed under duress.

“Practically every day I was taken out and hooded over my face. Every time I was absolutely terrified. My heart rate was racing. By the time I got to the propaganda room, I was covered in sweat,” he added.

Torture in captivity by the Russian occupiers

Women who were illegally detained by the Russian occupiers spoke about their experiences during illegal detention in Kherson, including the conditions of detention, interrogations and torture. zmina analyst Onisia Sinyuk said that most of the illegally detained women in Kherson were not even informed about the reasons for their detention.

According to her, women were beaten during and after the detention. In addition, cases of torture have been recorded. We are talking about various types of beatings, torture with electric current and water, as well as threats of sexual violence and forced nudity. In particular, one of the women was tortured with electric current through her chest.

(C)UNIAN 2023