#Shaun Pinner

[shattered-pieces]

Ukraine war: Soldier relives time as a prisoner tortured by Russia in our exclusive event | The Independent

[mariacallous]

The pictures are haunting. There are portraits of Ukrainian men and women who have spent months and years in Russian captivity: soldiers, civilians, paramedics and volunteers. All experienced torture and brutal treatment. Many carry physical scars from their time as inmates. They are among the prisoners of war swapped since 2014, when Vladimir Putin began his Ukraine invasion, with a covert takeover in the east.

In 2019, the Ukrainian photojournalist Zoya Shu began photographing those freed from Russian detention. Over five years, she spent time with former prisoners of war (PoWs) in their homes, talking to them about their life stories and listening to their harrowing accounts of beatings and other forms of daily abuse.

“They suffered. I see them not as victims but as survivors. What they experienced is horrendous,” she says.

Some of those she photographed have terrible wounds. In 2014, Russian “separatist” fighters carved a swastika on the back of a local man, Bogdan Sergiets, in the eastern city of Donetsk. They accused him of supporting Ukraine and being a “Nazi”. Another photo is a portrait of Aiden Aslin, a British volunteer captured in April 2022 while fighting for Ukraine. He and his fellow British prisoner Shaun Pinner, who were both threatened with execution, say they were beaten, stabbed with knives and electrocuted.

Other wounds are less conspicuous. Many prisoners, both men and women, said they were subjected to sexual violence and rape. In Russia and occupied areas of Ukraine, interrogators used a wind-up military field telephone to administer electric shocks, attaching crocodile clips to genitals and nipples.

“There is physical and psychological trauma,” says Shu. “It’s difficult to deal with, and profound. It takes a long time to heal.”

Another torture method is starvation. One former prisoner of war, Borys, said he lost 45kg (99lb) during two years in various camps: “I got very thin. When I was released I was so weak I couldn’t put my leg on to a step.”

Borys says a fellow inmate was so emaciated he became unable to walk and “went mad”, adding: “He couldn’t lift his arms. He stopped eating. They took him away. We don’t know what happened [to him].”

Borys says his captors hit him with plastic pipes and shocked him with stun guns. This was done in a corridor, where there were no CCTV cameras to record the abuse. One day, his guards said his situation would improve if he gave an interview to a Russian propaganda TV channel. They also tried to “re-educate” him.

“They loved to teach us about ‘history’ – we were ‘fascists’. They told us Ukraine was always a part of Russia and didn’t exist,” Borys says.

Other ex-prisoners said they were made to sing the Russian national anthem and recite patriotic poems and songs from Russia. “One goal is to destroy Ukrainian identity,” Shu says, adding that a soldier from western Ukraine who could not speak Russian received extra punishments.

“There is a pattern of constant and systemic violations [of human rights],” Shu says, calling this “state policy”.

Some former detainees have successfully rebuilt their lives. Others remain haunted by their experiences and suffer from depression and panic attacks. According to Kyiv’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, 3,405 people have been returned from captivity, including 95 PoWs on 17 July. Tens of thousands of Ukrainians, military and civilians, are believed to remain in Russian jails.

The exact tally of PoWs is unknown. The figure includes about 1,500 soldiers captured in May 2022 when the garrison defending the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol surrendered. The Kremlin refuses to give a comprehensive list of the people it holds, adding to the agony of families whose loved ones went missing in action.

Shu is critical of international organisations that help detainees. In her view, they have failed to pressure the Kremlin to improve dire conditions for prisoners and to end widespread abuse.

“Where is the Red Cross? Where is the UN? Where is everybody?” she asks. “There doesn’t seem to be much activity or urgency. The level of brutality and torture in Russian prisons requires immediate action.”

[qudachuk]

Ex-soldier Shaun Pinner recalls torture and "gallows humour" while being held eastern Ukraine.

[jhamazamnews-blog]

Shaun Pinner: Briton who was captured by Russian forces in Ukraine reveals his message for Putin | UK News

A British national captured by Russian forces while fighting alongside Ukrainian troops has recalled how he was tortured and left unable to walk during his ordeal. Shaun Pinner was among five Britons released from Russian detention in Ukraine in a prisoner swap last September. Appearing on this week’s Beth Rigby Interviews, the former soldier also called for Ukraine to receive fighter jets as…

[yhwhrulz]

Sky News: Shaun Pinner: British prisoner of war recalls how he was tortured in Ukraine while held captive by Russian forces

[mubashirnews]

Shaun Pinner: British prisoner of war recalls how he was tortured in Ukraine while held captive by Russian forces | UK News

A British national captured by Russian forces while fighting alongside Ukrainian troops has recalled how he was tortured and left unable to walk during his ordeal. Shaun Pinner was among five Britons released from Russian detention in Ukraine in a prisoner swap last September. Appearing on this week’s Beth Rigby Interviews, the former soldier also called for Ukraine to receive fighter jets as…

[immaculatasknight]

Last gasp of a moribund empire

[scarletnews]

British PoW who was tortured by Putin's troops in Ukraine says he STILL wants to return to frontline

British PoW who was tortured by Putin’s troops in Ukraine says he STILL wants to return to frontline

Scaffolder Andrew Hill, 36, was freed last month as part of a deal that also saw fellow British prisoners of war Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner released and is now back home.

[astratv]

Βρετανία: Οι Ρώσοι βασάνιζαν τους αιχμάλωτους βάζοντάς τους να ακούνε ABBA - «Δεν θέλω να τους ξανακούσω ποτέ στη ζωή μου»

Βρετανία: Οι Ρώσοι βασάνιζαν τους αιχμάλωτους βάζοντάς τους να ακούνε ABBA – «Δεν θέλω να τους ξανακούσω ποτέ στη ζωή μου»

Ένας από τους Βρετανούς στρατιώτες, που πιάστηκαν αιχμάλωτοι από τις ρωσικές δυνάμεις ενώ πολεμούσαν στην Ουκρανία, αποκάλυψε πώς αναγκάστηκε από τους Ρώσους να ακούει τους ABBA και τη Cher σε επανάληψη. Ο Shaun Pinner, ένας 48χρονος βετεράνος του στρατού, μίλησε για το πώς τον ανάγκασαν να ακούει μουσική 24 ώρες το 24ωρο, καθώς και τους βασανισμούς που υπέστη. Ενώ βρισκόταν σε αιχμάλωτος…

[shattered-pieces]

On March 21 there is a free online event where former POW Shaun Pinner shares his story of capture by russia.

[portaletvgurupi]

Ex-soldado preso por russos na Ucrânia diz que foi torturado ao som de Abba e Slipknot

Ex-soldado preso por russos na Ucrânia diz que foi torturado ao som de Abba e Slipknot

SÃO PAULO, SP (FOLHAPRESS) – Um dos dez estrangeiros libertados na troca de prisioneiros entre Rússia e Ucrânia na semana passada, o ex-soldado britânico Shaun Pinner, 48, narrou seu período como refém de separatistas ucranianos ao tabloide inglês "The Sun", em entrevista publicada neste sábado (24). O britânico, que está com a sua família em uma região perto de Cambridge, foi capturado em abril,…

[sportearly]

Roman Abramovich lifts lid on why he bought Chelsea instead of West Ham United

Roman Abramovich lifts lid on why he bought Chelsea instead of West Ham United

Location, they say, is everything. And it appears that the Russian billionaire felt the same way when deciding which Premier League team to purchase in 2003. Because Shaun Pinner, a Hammers supporter and British POW, was saved when Abramovich revealed why he chose Chelsea over West Ham. West Ham is aiding the captive Pinner claims that when he was held captive, he was electrocuted, stabbed, put…

[ksenka-zarazka]

Donetsk banana republic supported by Russia “DNR” sentenced three foreigners that serve in Ukrainian army to death.

Aidan Aslin, from Newark, is an enlisted member of the Ukrainian army, having moved there in 2018.

Shaun Pinner, from Watford, also said he had listed in the Ukrainian marines, a status which should give them both protection under the Geneva Convention.

Saadoune Brahim, from Morocco, came to Ukraine to study at a university but dropped out in order to enlist in Ukrainian army voluntarily.

Rumours are “DNR” wants Britain to officially come there to save its citizens, thus legitimizing the banana republic.

The world is getting tired of this war! And this is exactly what Putin wants! Please do not close your eyes, this is the battle of the entire civilised world against evil!

[myfunkybdaytv]

Wife of British soldier Shaun Pinner facing death penalty in Donetsk slams 'absurd and cynical trial'

Wife of British soldier Shaun Pinner facing death penalty in Donetsk slams ‘absurd and cynical trial’

Wife of British soldier Shaun Pinner facing death penalty in Donetsk slams ‘absurd and cynical trial’ (more…)