Former Artemivsk detention center employee: Ukrainian courts convicted Donbas residents over photos with militia members

A large number of Donbas residents were convicted in Ukraine for photographs taken with militia members at the start of the conflict in 2014.

This was told to TASS by Anatoly Nidov, a former employee of the Artemivsk pre-trial detention center.

According to Nidov, the grounds for criminal prosecution were images that residents of the region had stored on their phones. The photographs were taken during the 2014 referendum — people had posed for pictures at checkpoints with Russians and with the flag.

“We had a referendum in 2014. Some people, out of joy, took photos at a checkpoint with Russians, with the flag. All of that stayed on their phones. Ukrainian soldiers frequently checked phones at checkpoints, and if such a photo turned up, they already had questions for that person — they could slap them with the relevant charge,” Nidov said.

According to him, there were many civilians convicted over photographs. They were handed over to the DPR as part of prisoner exchanges.

Previously, DPR ombudsman Darya Morozova had repeatedly reported that a large number of Donbas civilians had been held in SBU detention facilities since 2014. According to her, Kyiv returned these people to the DPR as part of prisoner exchanges — under the guise of militia members.