In Zaporizhzhia, a collaborator who tortured a civilian has been charged
A resident of the Melitopol District has been notified that he is suspected of a war crime involving the torture of a civilian man. According to law enforcement officials, the suspect voluntarily joined the occupying security force, beat the victim, threatened him with violence, and unlawfully detained him.
During the pretrial investigation, law enforcement officials established that after the occupation of part of the Zaporizhzhia region, representatives of the aggressor state created an illegal law enforcement agency based on a captured unit of the National Police — the so-called “Akimov District Department of the Main Directorate of Internal Affairs for the Zaporizhzhia Region,” which was later reorganized into “Police Station No. 3 of the Melitopol Directorate of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs.”
In June 2024, a local resident voluntarily joined the ranks of this pseudo-law enforcement agency and, acting on orders from the occupying administration, persecuted Ukrainian citizens who did not support the policies imposed by the aggressor state.
For example, in one of the villages of the Yakymivska territorial community in the Melitopol District, the suspect, together with representatives of Russian armed formations, illegally entered the private residence of the director of a municipal institution, ostensibly to conduct a “search.”
At that time, armed soldiers restricted the victim’s freedom of movement, and after the “search” was completed, the suspect struck the man with the butt of a pistol and with his fists, causing bodily injury. Subsequently, the victim was handcuffed, unlawfully detained, transported to various locations, and pressured to cooperate with the occupying authorities.
Later, the man was taken to a wooded area outside the town, where the suspect and other criminals continued to inflict physical violence on him. The suspect beat the victim with his hands, feet, and the butt of an assault rifle, fired shots near him, and threatened him with physical harm if he refused to cooperate with the occupying administration.
In addition, while the victim was being unlawfully detained, the perpetrator stole his gold chain.
Based on evidence gathered during the pre-trial investigation, investigators from Division No. 4 (Kosmichny) of the Zaporizhzhia District Police Department, under the procedural supervision of the Shevchenkivskyi District Prosecutor’s Office, notified the suspect of the charges against him. Legal classification: Part 1 of Article 438 (war crimes) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
The penalty under the charged article provides for imprisonment for a term of eight to twelve years.
The pretrial investigation is ongoing. Law enforcement officials continue to establish all the circumstances of the crime and identify other individuals involved in its commission.
Source: National Police
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