The Story Of Ukrainian Civilians Who Had Become Russian Prisoners: They Defended Us Like Animals

Photo via @DefenceU

JAKARTA - Hundreds of Ukrainian civilians have been illegally imprisoned in Russia. The lucky ones used it as a bargaining chip in a prisoner swap.

Last week, 108 women, including 12 civilians, were released from prison in Russia as part of a prisoner swap. And this is a sad kisa of them.

Quoted from CNN, Saturday, October 22, some of these Ukrainian women felt the brutal abuse of the kidnappers. This includes electric torture.

Ukraine state news agency Ukrinform interviewed one of them identified as 26-year-old Hanna O, and had served in the 36th Marine Brigade.

"They treat us like animals," said Hanna O, who spent more than six months in prison.

"They beat the girls, they tortured girls with electric currents, beat them with hammers, that's the lightest thing," he continued.

"Those who have tattoos... they want to cut off our hands, cut our tattoos, fed us with boiling water just because you're there, because you're with the marine, because you speak Ukrainian," he said.

In fact, international law is clear that civilians must be treated as protected people and cannot be detained as prisoners of war. The act of forced transfer of Ukrainian civilians to other countries is a war crime.

According to Human Rights Watch report in July, international humanitarian law also prohibits hostage-taking. The purpose of using it in exchange for prisoners in the future would be a hostage-taking war crime.