Oleksandr Irkha

The 43-year-old tractor driver Oleksandr Irkha from Mariupol was abducted by Russian forces on April 12, 2022. He is currently unlawfully detained in Detention Center No. 5 in Rostov-on-Don. His health has severely deteriorated due to mistreatment.

Case facts:

Identity: Ukrainian civilian, illegally detained in the Luhansk region

Date of birth: November 29, 1997

Last known location: City of Khrustalnyi (Krasnyi Luch), Luhansk region

Abducted: August 18, 2022

Report:

Oleksandr Irkha is from Mariupol and works as a tractor driver. Before his abduction, he worked for a company that collects and processes metal waste.

On April 12, 2022, Oleksandr was detained near his home by the Russian military and taken to a so-called filtration camp in the village of Besymenne. Filtration camps are former Soviet facilities used to identify alleged state enemies and separatists. After the Russian invasion in 2022, reports of such camps reemerged.

After the camp, Oleksandr was handcuffed and taken to a prison in Donetsk, where he was held for almost one and a half years. He was then transferred to Pre-Trial Detention Center No. 1 in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. Currently, he is held in Detention Center No. 5 in the same city.

Oleksandr is falsely accused of terrorism, facing up to 22 years in prison. Around 30 court hearings have already taken place in this sham trial.

State of health:

Before his imprisonment, Oleksandr had no known health issues. Since detention, he has suffered leg problems because Russian prison guards force him to stand all day under threat of beatings. He has lost almost all his teeth and suffers from vision problems due to beatings.