Alexander Maksimchuk sentenced to 20 years in a maximum security penal colony.
Ukrainian prisoner of war, defender of “Azovstal” Alexander Maksimchuk, whom a court in Rostov-on-Don found guilty of terrorist activity, after the verdict was announced, said that he does not admit guilt and will appeal. The Ukrainian also spoke about the torture he was subjected to during almost 2.5 years of being held in Russian captivity.
The recording of Maksimchuk's speech was published by the Russian publication “Mediazona”.
According to journalists, Oleksandr Maksimchuk was captured during the defense of Mariupol in May 2022. He survived a terrorist attack in the colony in Elenovka, and then was held in pretrial detention center No. 2 in Taganrog until the spring of 2024. The prisoner of war was then transported to Rostov-on-Don, where his case began to be heard by the Southern District Military Court this summer.
In December, the court found 30-year-old Maksimchuk guilty of participating in a terrorist organization (the Azov Regiment – ed.) and undergoing training for the purposes of terrorist activity. The court sentenced him to 20 years in a maximum security penal colony.
“These are standard charges brought against captured Azov fighters in Russia,” the journalists noted.
It is also reported that before the start of the hearing, the state prosecutor asked the captured Azov fighter whether he would appeal the verdict, or perhaps he “wants to be exchanged sooner.” In response, Maksymchuk said that he had “nothing to lose,” so he would appeal.
“I do not agree with the court’s decision and will appeal it because I consider myself an innocent person who was brought to criminal responsibility. I am a soldier, I followed the orders of the state of Ukraine, I do not regret anything, I do not repent of anything,” the Ukrainian said after the verdict was announced in a conversation with journalists.
He also said that the places where Ukrainian prisoners of war are held are actually torture centers.
“I was beaten, tortured, I was starved. They used all conceivable and inconceivable methods of pressure on me… They also inflicted moral and psychological pressure on me using special means, namely portable stun guns. This was all done with the goal of making me recognize the Azov Regiment as a terrorist organization, which it is not. And I am convinced that I will be able to prove this in the future,” the Azov member noted.
He added that after 2.5 years of captivity, “he cannot even imagine what it is like to be a free person.”
“I have nothing to lose,” Alexander Maksimchuk concluded.
According to the publication, after the trial, Alexander Maksimchuk was again transferred to Taganrog.
Recall that journalists discovered a place in Belarus where Ukrainian prisoners were tortured. The occupiers set up a “filtration camp” on the territory of a Belarusian state enterprise. There were children among the captives.
Similar topics:
More news
