Vabamu to screen film about prisoners in occupied territories on 'Ukraine Defenders' Day'
On October 1—"Ukraine Defenders' Day"—a special screening of "Prisoners: System of Terror" takes place at Tallinn's Vabamu Museum of Occupations and Freedom. The movie reveals the system of terror created by Russia in the occupied Ukrainian territories.
"Prisoners: System of Terror" is a documentary about Ukrainian civilian prisoners who were captured by Russian security forces in the occupied territories. The reasons for detention can be anything—from a photo of Russian military equipment or a Ukrainian flag on a phone to simply speaking the Ukrainian language.
Imagine you're in the occupied Ukrainian lands. If, for whatever reason, the FSB added your name to its secret list of "disloyal individuals," or Russian security forces discovered a photo of you with a Ukrainian flag on social media, or a photo of Russian tanks was found during a "filtration" procedure on your smartphone, or perhaps you simply responded to a Russian soldier in Ukrainian—all of these things could land you in a secret prison with minimal chance of return.
According to human rights activists, at least 15,000 Ukrainian civilian prisoners are held in Russian prisons. The exact number is unknown: these people usually disappear after being kidnapped, and even their loved ones may remain unaware of their fate for years.
Sometimes, prisoners appear in Russian propaganda videos—broken, bearing signs of torture, forced to confess to the most absurd accusations. But over time, the truth comes out. "Prisoners: System of Terror" explores how the system of terror works—what happens to people after being kidnapped, what they endure, and whether there's a chance of escape.
One of the film's main characters, a former Ukrainian prisoner and organizer of peaceful resistance to the occupation in Kherson, Oleksandr Tarasov, will participate in the event and share his personal experiences.
After the screening, visitors will also be able to write letters to Ukrainian prisoners.
The screening is free of charge to attend and takes place at the Vabamu Museum of Occupations and Freedom in Tallinn from 5 p.m. on Wednesday, October 1.
The movie will be shown in Russian with English subtitles.
The screening is organized by the Activatica media project in partnership with the Congress of Ukrainians in Estonia, Reforum Space Tallinn and the Vabamu Museum.
More information is available here.
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Editor: Michael Cole
