According to Ukrainian human rights activists, at least 15,000 Ukrainian civilian prisoners are currently being held in Russian prisons. This number is several times higher than the total number of officially recognized political prisoners in Russia.

The reasons for people being detained can be anything, ranging from having photo of Russian military equipment or a Ukrainian flag on their phone to simply speaking the Ukrainian language.

No one knows how many thousands of Ukrainian civilians remain in torture prisons in the occupied territories of Ukraine. These people usually disappear after being detained, and even their close relatives may not learn of their fate for years.

Sometimes, they reappear in Russian propaganda videos – broken, bearing signs of torture, and forced to confess to the most absurd accusations. But over time, the truth comes to light – and it is shocking.

The first film focuses on three stories, told by the relatives of Ukrainian civilian prisoners: a mother whose son was taken by the FSB (Russian Federal Security Service), a wife whose husband was taken away, and a young woman left without both parents by the Russian occupation.

The second explores how the Russian system of terror works – what happens to people after they are abducted, what they are forced to endure, and whether there is any chance of escape.

Beatings, torture, complete isolation from the outside world, no contact with family or lawyers, years spent in basements and prisons without trial or investigation – and sometimes show trials based on fabricated charges of "terrorism" or "espionage."

The event is organized by Reforum Space Tallinn, which also organized a photography exhibition on the same topic this April at the Vabamu Museum of Occupations and Freedom.

At that time, Reforum Space Tallinn Coordinator Natalia Kovyliaeva told ERR News that the organization had previously corresponded with Ukrainian political prisoners held by Russia by mail.

"We already had some evenings of writing letters to political prisoners in Russia, who received our letters. Then the anti-war committee told us that they were corresponding with Ukrainian prisoners in Russia, and they gave us their names," said Kovyliaeva.

According to Kovyliaeva, Reforum Space Tallinn organized their first evening of writing letters to Ukrainian war prisoners in March.

"Then we decided that we need a bigger event in order to make the public more aware of this problem. So we decided to organize the opening of the photo exhibition and film screenings together with the antiwar committee and media project Activatica in partnership with the Vabamu Museum," she explained.

More information is available here and here.

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