Maksim Butkevich, victim of Russian torture: I told my interrogator he was going to break my shoulder, but he said he knew what he was doing'

"Cynicism is a weapon of war, and Russia is a sharpshooter. Its president, Vladimir Putin, is considering withdrawing from the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture (ECPT), to which it has been a party since 1998. A political mockery that deepens the open wound of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians in Russian prisons, victims of terrible abuse. Maksim Butkevich, 48, is one of them."

"He was released in a POW exchange on October 18, after two years and four months of captivity. He admits that it may sound strange to say that one is afraid of fear a play on words but it's understandable. I remember the fear in prison when the guards were nearby, in the cells next door, he explains. I remember how I anticipated the pain; that's what scared me the most."

"The story of Butkevich a Kyiv native who, before taking up arms, was a journalist and human rights defender with the BBC and Amnesty International on his resume is similar to that of so many Ukrainians who have passed through Russian detention centers. With one peculiarity and frustration: he got out, others didn't, and he doesn't know why. I'm an anti-fascist, and perhaps I was the least suitable prisoner to be accused of being a Nazi, he says."

Russia is considering withdrawing from the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture, undermining international mechanisms for scrutiny and accountability. Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians are held in Russian detention centers and suffer severe abuse and torture. Maksim Butkevich, a 48-year-old Kyiv native and former journalist and human rights defender, volunteered to defend Ukraine on February 24, 2022, commanded a platoon, and was captured on June 21 near Myrna Dolyna. He endured two years and four months of captivity and was released in a prisoner exchange on October 18. He describes overwhelming fear in detention, constant anticipation of pain, and bewilderment that he was released while many remain imprisoned.

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