“Women’s cells” of the Kherson torture chamber. Human rights defenders told about the illegal detention of women by Russians in the Kherson region

In the occupied part of the Kherson region, the Russian Federation illegally detains and tortures women. Those of them who managed to get out told about the abuse.

This is stated in the report of human rights defenders of the ZMINA Center for Human Rights.

The women were kept in separate cells in the detention center in Kherson. The cells were located on the second floor, interrogations were carried out on the same floor or on the third, and torture – on the first. Some women were kept there for an hour, some for almost three months.

The age of the victims, according to official data, ranged from 32 to 58 years old. The youngest among the women, who was in the Temporary Detention Center for the longest period, was a 21-year-old person. In addition, among those who were in this detention center for a short time, there were even minors.

Human rights activists claim that the women were suspected of partisan activities and providing assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. They note that detentions were carried out purposefully, in particular, by law enforcement officers of Ukraine, as well as against persons who had connections or family relationships with representatives of law enforcement agencies of Ukraine, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, or the resistance movement in the temporarily occupied territories of the Kherson region.

Among the women who were held in the detention center were a former volunteer of the “Right Sector” who provided assistance in a military hospital, an employee of the Kherson regional communal emergency and rescue service, an employee of the personnel department of the paramilitary guard, a housewife, a cadet of the Kharkiv National Air Force University named after Ivan Kozhedub, an employee of the patrol police department, as well as the deputy director of the gymnasium.

Also, according to the report, another category of detainees was used as hostages to detain their family members and relatives, as well as acquaintances.