Russia escalates abductions and false charges in occupied territories – Zaporizhzhia official

He spoke about this on Espreso TV.

"The most blatant cases are happening right now, more reports are coming in of people being kidnapped, with authorities just looking for an excuse to convict them and seize whatever property they still own. We’re talking about something as minor as a social media post, someone writes something, someone else reports them, and that’s all it takes. Reporting on others is a priority there. Just the other day, in one settlement, a woman was convicted over a post, the process is happening, she’s facing up to seven years in prison," he said.

There are also cases of people being abducted and hit with baseless charges.

"The situation is even worse in the Berdyansk district and another settlement, there are at least two such cases. In broad daylight, a car pulls up, terrorists’ accomplices throw someone into a police car, take them to the commandant’s office, and start piling on accusations, fabricated claims about aiding the Armed Forces of Ukraine, all without evidence. The worst part is that it’s nearly impossible to prove innocence. These people face up to 20 years in prison. And the most terrifying thing is when relatives try to get answers from the Russian commandant’s office, they often get nothing," noted the Zaporizhzhia City Council member.

Dmytro Kyrylchuk added that Russians then contact the families and demand ransom: "After some time, they try to reach the relatives, but it’s all about manipulation — ‘Sign over your property, and the charges will disappear.’ This is the grim reality in the temporarily occupied territories, unfortunately, the Russians continue to terrorize the local population."

• On February 18, reports emerged that Russia’s FSB is preparing provocations against civilians in occupied Ukrainian territories just to later blame partisan movements.