terrorised. Witnesses also mention having seen supporters of the “Donetsk People’s Republic” and “Luhansk People’s Republic” being detained and subjected to harsh punishment for looting or insubordination. 212. Among the numerous cases reported to the HRMMU, a journalist from Lutsk who was abducted by armed groups in Donetsk on 25 April, stated that during 23 days of his detention, he suffered from permanent lack of drinking water. He was reportedly tortured with electric shocks, beaten repeatedly over the head with a heavy book, and his captors reportedly tried to cut off one of his fingers. 213. An activist of “Batkivschyna”, abducted on 22 May and detained by supporters of the “Donetsk People’s Republic” in Donetsk, reported being subjected to torture and forced labour while in detention. He stated that he only received food twice in the five days he was detained. He was interrogated about affiliation with the “Right Sector”, with “Euromaidan”, and trips to Kyiv. During one of the interrogations he was reportedly subjected to a mock execution. 214. Three activists of a local human rights NGO were detained in Donetsk on 27 May and released on 1 June. They were taken to the occupied building of the Makiyivka Department of Organized Crime Control, and interrogated on a daily basis, accused of being affiliated to the “Right Sector” and the Ukrainian military. Both of them allege having been tortured. Enforced disappearances 215. The HRMMU has received credible reports of individuals being detained in conditions that amount to enforced disappearance, and has a list of 11 such cases. 216. On 10 May, units of the Ukrainian armed forces allegedly detained a streamer, who was covering the activities of armed groups, in particular, the attacks on the government buildings in Donetsk region. The HRMMU filed a request to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), asking about the current location of the individual. On 15 May, the HRMMU was informed by the MFA that a criminal case was opened by the MoI underhe Article 115 (Murder) of the Criminal Code. 217. In an earlier case of concern, working with the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM), the HRMMU was able to identify the location of an individual whose whereabouts had been unknown for nine days. The location of an activist of the “Donetsk People’s Republic” was identified on 26 May, after he had been allegedly detained by the National Guard on 17 April in the area of Amvrosiyivka. After enquiries made by the NPM, the activist was located in the pre-trial detention centre in Dnipropetrovsk. It remains unknown who exactly arrested the activist and why access was not granted to him for nine days. The NPM confirmed that he had no health complaints, besides having "a few minor bruises" on his body. It is checking on access to legal counsel for him. It is also unclear whether the activist has been officially charged. 218. This has put in motion a good practice for partnership with the NPM on such cases, which was key in drawing attention to the case of the enforced disappearance for six days of two LifeNews journalists, Oleg Sidyakin and Marat Saychenko. Both were detained on 18 May near Kramatorsk during a raid by Ukrainian forces against armed groups. The whereabouts of the two journalists was unknown until their release on the evening of 24 May, when they 106 | P a g e

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