28 Hostages of the Kremlyn

28 HOSTAGES OF THE KREMLIN
6. THE CASE OF YURIY YATSENKO AND BOHDAN YARICHEVSKIY
| | Torture and self-mutilation
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Despite the happy ending, the story of the
two students was blighted by their ill-treatment.
From the very first day, the young people
were subjected to psychological pressure
in a bid to coerce them into incriminating
themselves. As the young men were walking
through the corridors of the detention centre,
prison guards would shout: “We are escorting
Bandera followers and the Nazis who killed
our women and children with phosphorus
bombs.” They were blackmailed, threatened
and attempts to bribe them to make a public
statement on television were carried out. They
were tortured using starvation, strangulation,
beatings to the head, abdomen and genitals
whilst a bag was placed over their heads
and they were bound with adhesive tape, as
well as subjected to the close-range firing
of empty rounds.
The statement by Yuriy Yatsenko about the use of
torture against him
In order to prevent further torture, Yuriy
and Bohdan decided to take extreme measures — they cut themselves in the abdomen and
slashed their wrists. Having carried out the plan, Yuriy refused to allow anyone to give him medical
care until he was given the opportunity to make a phone call. Subsequently, he kept a blade,
and in the case of every potential danger, he threatened to commit suicide.
During the administration of first aid to Yuriy, the surgeon deliberately refused to use anesthesia
during the stitching up of the deadly wounds to his stomach and veins, commenting as
follows: «You were brave enough to cut yourself, now be brave enough to suffer”. 70
Scars on Yuriy Yatsenko’s body, which resulted from forced self-mutilation
70 Open Russia / «We will give you to Kadyrov, you will be his dog»: Ukrainian student speaks about a year
in Russian captivity’ — https://openrussia.org/post/view/7683/