Details have emerged of how the 07 Sri Lankans were tortured at the hands of the Russian Army.
In a Facebook post, Serhiy Bolvinov, head of the Investigative Department of the National Police in Kharkiv Oblast has said that the seven Sri Lankans, which included a woman and 6 men, were in Kupyansk at the start of a full-scale invasion.
They tried to reach Kharkiv on foot but were detained by Russian troops at the first checkpoint. They were bound, and taken to aa makeshift prison in Vovchansk with bags covering their heads.
The post notes that the Sri Lankans were kept in inhumane conditions, and forced to work as cleaners.
The female Sri Lankan had been held in a prison for two months with two of them having their nails ripped off while one was hit by a door on the head.
‘Since the Russians do not communicate in English, so foreigners never understood what actually the Russians wanted from them, and for what they were tortured. The only thing they understood was the Russians said “money” during torture. According to this, the second world army demanded money from detained foreigners from Sri Lanka,’ the translated post states.
After the de-occupation of Vovchansk, foreigners again decided to go to Kharkiv on foot – and on the way they were met by a hotel guard who took shelter and reported it to Ukrainian police.
The Investigative Management is currently conducting investigative actions, interrogating them as victims, and establishing all details. There is already a connection with the Sri Lankan embassy and all the foreigners police have been provided with security and proper residence conditions, the post further states.