A volunteer arrested by security forces from Chechnya for helping Ukrainian refugees died in a pre-trial detention center.
61-year-old Russian volunteer Alexander Demidenko, who helped Ukrainian refugees cross the border and return home, died in the Belgorod detention center.
The man was kidnapped on October 17, 2023: then at the Kolotilovka checkpoint he helped an elderly woman cross the border. Three days later, police officers brought Demidenko home, where they then conducted a search together with fighters from the Chechen West-Akhmat battalion.
Security forces claim that a grenade and fuses from World War II were found at the volunteer’s home. After this, a criminal case was opened for possession of weapons and treason.
“I think my father committed suicide, since for such an active and freedom-loving person the thought of a possible future imprisonment was unbearable. He had already been psychologically killed for six months in a pre-trial detention center without visits from his family or books,” commented the son of prisoner Demidenko. His words were published in a support group for the deceased volunteer.
Since the beginning of the “SVO”, Alexander Demidenko went to anti-war pickets and helped Ukrainian refugees return to their homeland, drove them to the border, and hosted them at home.
