The Russian military tortured the inhabitants of Balakleya during the occupation of the city. The BBC writes about it.
Thus, the publication cites the testimony of Artem, a resident of Balakliya, who spent more than 40 days in captivity by the Russian military. He was detained for a photograph of his brother, serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which was found at his home. Artem said that he was tortured with electricity for this.
Everything happened in the building of the local police department, where Russian troops were stationed. According to Artyom, the military deliberately turned off the ventilation system so that the screams of other hostages could be heard.
“They turned it off so everyone could hear people screaming when they were being electrocuted. With some prisoners this was done every other day. Even women were tortured,” Artem said.
Once a man survived the torture of electricity: “I was forced to pick up two wires. There was a generator there. The faster it spun, the greater the tension. They said: "Let go of the wires – you're done." Then they started asking questions. They said I was lying, and the generator spun faster, so the voltage grew.
Artyom's words are confirmed by the director of the local school, Tatyana. She spent three days in the department and also heard screams from other cells. According to the Ukrainian police, they are designed for two, but the occupying authorities of Balakliya kept up to eight people there.
Balakleya is not the only liberated locality in the Kharkiv region where evidence of torture of civilians was found. So, after the departure of Russian troops from the village of Zheleznodorozhnoye, law enforcement agencies found the bodies of four local residents there with signs of torture.
