BBC exposes faces behind Russia's alleged torture prison network

A major BBC investigation has identified jailers and officials accused of overseeing abuse inside Russia's network of secret detention centres in occupied Ukraine, exposing men who survivors say carried out torture while now living apparently ordinary lives with their families.

The investigation sheds fresh light on a prison system that the UN says is marked by the "systematic and widespread" torture of civilians. Ukrainian authorities estimate more than 16,000 civilians have been taken captive or disappeared since Russia's occupation began in 2014 and expanded with the full-scale invasion in 2022.

"I have never heard such terrible screams before," says Liudmyla, recalling her first days in the Izolyatsia detention centre

Survivor Names the Men She Says Destroyed Her Life

Liudmyla Huseinova says she spent more than three years inside Russia's clandestine detention system after being seized outside her home in occupied Donetsk region in 2019.

She alleges former Ukrainian traffic policeman Yurii Temerbek, who later joined Russian-backed separatists, took part in her arrest and witnessed a sexual assault against her inside the notorious Izolyatsia prison. Temerbek is among several men identified by the BBC after examining witness testimony, court documents and open-source evidence. He has not responded to the allegations.

Temerbek, now aged 56, is pictured in a traffic police uniform in this image posted on social media in 2013

A Hidden Network Comes Into Focus

The BBC mapped 93 detention sites across occupied Ukraine between 2023 and 2025, alongside another 102 facilities inside Russia. Around a third of the sites appear to be unofficial locations, including offices, hotels and garages, with international monitors denied meaningful access.

The UN says former detainees consistently describe beatings, electric shocks, mock executions and sexual violence. Moscow rejects such allegations, accusing the UN of bias and dismissing claims of conflict-related sexual violence as false.

Alleged Perpetrators Still Living Freely

The investigation also identified Ruslan Yeriomichev, known to prisoners as "Yermak", and former Russian prison officer Andrey Spivak, who Ukrainian prosecutors accuse of war crimes linked to detainee abuse. Both men deny nothing publicly and did not respond to BBC requests for comment.

Social media profiles suggest the accused continue living normal lives in Russia and occupied Ukraine, a reality that survivors say deepens their sense of injustice.

Yeriomichev - who was referred to in the prison as "Yermak" was pictured with a friend in this image posted on social media in 2020

Justice Still Out of Reach

Huseinova was freed in a prisoner exchange in 2022 and now supports other former detainees in Kyiv while helping families send parcels to relatives still in captivity.

Ukrainian prosecutors have brought cases against dozens of suspects, but most convictions have been delivered in absentia. For survivors, publicly exposing those they accuse is seen as one of the few remaining paths towards accountability while many detention centres continue to operate beyond the reach of international justice.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2kkrx8jeno

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