Arefev Sergey Alekseevich (Aref'yev Sergiy Oleksiyovich)

In Kherson, in annexed Crimea, on March 23, 2022, local resident, communications engineer of Kyivstar company Sergey Arefiev was detained when he was going for groceries with a friend. Russian soldiers suddenly blocked their way in a civilian car, jumping out of it. They grabbed Sergei and his friend, put bags over their heads, and took them to the police on Lutheran Street. Artyom Arefyev's friend was beaten, men were interrogated about their participation in anti-Russian protests and who was allegedly paying them. On the same day, Sergey's friend was released, and Arefyev himself was transferred to the IVS No. 1 on Teploenergetikov Street. A man was held there for five days. After that, Arefyeva was escorted to the SIZO No. 1 in Simferopol. Prisoners there were poorly fed, and they slept two to a bed. The Russians also forbade the Ukrainians to perform physical exercises, motivating this by the fact that the prisoners were preparing to escape. If someone violated the ban, he was transferred to a disciplinary isolation ward. During the day, they were forbidden to sit on the bed. During the "acceptance" of prisoners, they were brutally beaten. No later than January 2023, Arefyeva was accused of espionage. According to the Russian investigation, Arefiev informed employees of the Security Service of Ukraine about the location and numbers of Russian troops in the Kherson region. In May 2023, Arefyeva was sent to a psychiatric hospital for two months. In November 2023 (the exact date is unknown), the Kherson Regional Court sentenced Sergey Arefyev to 11.5 years in a strict regime colony. On May 28, 2024, the First Appellate Court of General Jurisdiction reduced the sentence by six months.