Another civilian kidnapped in occupied Melitopol: Russians staged a show of detention

The Russians continue to terrorize the local population, staging show detentions and fabricating criminal cases.

This time, the victim of Russian “law enforcement officers” was a 35-year-old Melitopol resident, who was accused of “calling for extremism” for a comment on a social network. As in other similar cases, the man became a victim of total surveillance, as Russian special services carefully monitor social networks in search of the slightest dissent.

Any dissent in the occupation becomes a pretext for persecution. Russian special services carefully monitor social networks, detecting even the slightest hints of a pro-Ukrainian position. For an ordinary comment on the Internet, a person risks ending up in a basement, where the Russians beat out a “confession” through torture.

This was the case in this case, where the man was accused of allegedly “calling for information about Russian military equipment.” The investigation is completely fabricated, but the Russians often follow a familiar pattern: first they kidnap a person, then after many months or even years in torture chambers, they stage a show of detention for propagandists. Traditionally, the Russians put on a real show. A whole detachment of FSB officers and Russian Guard soldiers, armed to the teeth, arrived after the “dangerous criminal.” The man, who did not resist, was knocked to the ground. Propaganda people with cameras carefully recorded the moment in order to later show the “heroic operation” to combat the mythical “spies” on the news. After the staged detention, the man was sent to a pre-trial detention center, where he faces further terror. Under torture, he can be forced to sign any papers, and then the judge of the occupation court will write another fake verdict for “high treason”.

The residents of the temporarily occupied Melitopol live in constant fear. There is no question of freedom of speech – every word spoken can lead to the basement. The Russians create an atmosphere of general surveillance, turning the city into a kind of totalitarian prison.

In such conditions, even a like or comment on social networks can become deadly. Another kidnapping is yet another evidence that the Russian military continues to terrorize the population, and any manifestations of disagreement with the occupation are suppressed by the most brutal methods.