BBC investigation exposes jailers and officials at Russia's 'torture prisons' in Ukraine

A BBC World Service investigation has uncovered the identities of three men accused of running and participating in torture and sexual violence at secret Russian detention centres in occupied Ukraine. One of them is Yurii Temerbek, a former Ukrainian traffic policeman who joined Russian-backed separatists. Liudmyla Huseinova, a 64-year-old detainee arrested in 2019, says Temerbek was present when she was sexually assaulted at the notorious Izolyatsia detention centre. The BBC also identified Ruslan Yeriomichev, known as "Yermak" inside the prison, and Andrey Spivak, a former Russian policeman who allegedly ran a detention facility in Kherson.

The UN human rights office (OHCHR) describes torture and ill-treatment of civilians in these centres as "systematic and widespread". Former detainees report beatings, electric shocks, mock executions, and sexual violence. Ukrainian authorities say over 16,000 civilians have been taken captive or have disappeared since 2014. The BBC mapped 93 unofficial detention sites in occupied Ukraine and another 102 in Russia, using media reports, investigator data, and human rights group information.

Liudmyla was released in a prisoner exchange in 2022. She now lives in Kyiv and runs an organisation supporting other female former detainees. Another survivor, sailor Oleksii Sivak, describes being tortured with electric current on his genitals in Kherson. Ukrainian prosecutors have launched cases against dozens of people; only one – the former head of Izolyatsia – has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after being arrested in Kyiv in 2021.

The BBC sought comment from Temerbek, Yeriomichev, and Spivak but received no response. The Russian Embassy in the UK said Russia has "consistently advocated respect for international law" and that allegations of crimes during the Ukraine conflict "are documented and investigated".