Friends in Ireland may be familiar with Yurii as he has spoken at Yearly Meeting about the war in Ukraine. Yurii Sheliazhenko, PhD, is a Member of the Board of Directors of World BEYOND War. He is based in Ukraine. Yurii is executive secretary of the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement, a board member of the European Bureau for Conscientious Objection, and a council member of the International Peace Bureau.
News has reached us that Yurii was recently picked up by the Ukrainian authorities.
On March 19, representatives of the Pechersk District Police in Kyiv, along with an individual claiming to be a TCC (Territorial Recruitment Center) officer, illegally detained Yurii Sheliazhenko. Yurii managed to call his lawyer, but the officers did not wait for the lawyer’s arrival, Yurii was mistreated before eventually being released.
The following statement has been issued by World Beyond War
Friends are encouraged to consider signing a petition urging the Ukrainian Government to Drop Prosecution of Peace Activist Yurii Sheliazhenko: you can sign the petition here.
You can keep updated on the situation at the World Beyond War website.
You can read Yurii’s story in his own words below, from an email he sent to the EMES Peace and Service Network.
Yurii’s story:
“Dear friends,
a quick update.
I am writing this crying and exhausted, with bruises on my hands. Currently I am free, but I don’t know for how long. I need to try to recover my SIM card urgently, and I might be arbitrarily detained on the way again. Here what is happened very shortly – I hope I will be able to write more detailed report later and tell something after our usual Sunday worship online which I hope might take place as usual.
Unfortunately, the threat about which the joint press release said [ https://www.civilni.media/553/ ] became real.
I was stopped by two police officers (one of them presented an ID of operative Prokopiuk), and one person in black refusing to say who he is, near 20:30 on 19 March, when I was on the way to check any letters on the post station. They asked me to name myself, checked my name and said that I violated rules of military registration and must go with them to compose a protocol of violation of Article 210 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offences. I said I am a pacifist, Quaker and conscientious objector, I am not subject to military registration and should be registered for the alternative nonmilitary service according to Article 35 of Constitution of Ukraine. I said I will not go voluntarily and they could compose a protocol on the place or arrest me in accordance with legal procedure and respecting my rights under Article 29 of Constitution of Ukraine and Article 5 of ECHR, namely, compose of protocol of administrative or criminal arrest, allow my lawyer to provide me a legal aid, ensure judicial review and proper trial, etc. They allowed me to make a call to my lawyer, and the lawyer generally said them the same regarding proper procedure of arrest, recommended me to complain to the State Bureau of Investigations in case if I will be arrested without proper procedure. Then they refused to arrest me lawfully, instead pushed me to the car by force. During a few minutes on the way I managed to disseminate very short message that I was stopped by police.
I was forcibly taken to Pechersk District Territorial Conscription Center (a.k.a TCC; Kyiv, Boichuka street 20) where I was arbitrarily detained incommunicado: no legal documents were composed and offered me to sign, no legal aid or any opportunity to complain, no phone calls, my relatives were not informed. On the entering to the TCC my mobile phone was forcibly taken. I demanded my release and declared conscientious objection, they shouted at me “shut up”, beaten, fall on the floor, dragged by feet to a small room and pepper sprayed the room. The door was open, but when I tried to quit, someone pepper sprayed me in the face. I continued to complain for beating and torture, there was laughing and one person said mockingly that I will learn what is torture later when they will be allowed. I demanded medical aid and was said no medic is there. After a long time I was not able even to open my eyes. When I partially recovered, I went to a short corridor, was denied in quitting the place, found a commanding officer in a room with sign “Control Group”, declared I am a conscientious objector and prisoner of conscience, demanded my release. This person was the same who threatened to torture me more intensive than pepper spray, and he said his name is Oleksandr Ivanovich and he is a mobilization preparation officer. He started to pressure me psychologically with obscene words saying I am a draft evader and must serve in army, expressed contempt to my references to the law and Bible, demanded me to forget any religious beliefs and ordered me not to raise any complaints. When I said that Quakers are known as publishers of truth and I will tirelessly declare truth and demand justice, he started to beet me by fists and push me to the room where I was pepper sprayed, in the room he beated me by foot and when I fell beated me again, and when I started to stand up he beated me by fists ordering me to shut up, when I asked him to stop torturing me and release me. He cornered me and slapped in face and threatened to slap again if I say any word, and I said again calmly and respectfully looking in his eyes that I will not stop telling truth and demanding justice. There were some voices from the corridor, the officer beated me sitting in the corner again demanding not to complain, and went away. It was painful, I started to cry, and again was not able to open eyes because of pepper spray, all face hurting. Even when the pain soothed to some degree, I was able to saw very few things because I was taken without my glasses and I am myopic, and I felt I see worse after the pepper spraying.
Then I and several other detainees were forcibly taken to some place supposedly for military medical examination. I continued to complain loudly about arbitrary detention and demand release, was pushed and fell on the floor again, cried and was not able to open my eyes. I also demanded medical aid but was said there is no doctors here and nobody will provide me medical aid, only the medical examination to declare me fit for military service. One women in white laughed at me and said obscene offensive things. The only thing left to me was to suffer pain, to pray and to sing: “I’ve got peace like a river”, “I shall not be moved”, “God makes me an instrument of peace”, “Walk in the light”. It was a little better than crying and probably brought attention, because at last I was allowed to wash my face and wipe by toilet paper, but it started to hurt even more. I denied to leave the place that looked like a hospital without proper medical aid after the torture. For that I was beaten by soldiers who held me and others in detention, fell, was pulled by hair and dragged several meters by a soldier, screamed, then dragged by foot at the floor to the minibus with detainees.
The humiliating detention continued that way. I tried to speak to soldiers and fellow detainees (they were in despair, I tried to encourage them mentioning Christ’s friendly love, despite I am in pain and desperation myself). After several my attempts to insist loudly that I am prisoner of conscience detained illegally and must be released, one soldier threatened me with electric shocker, its crack and blue sparks looked as very credible threat. I have problems with heart and blood pressure, sometimes my nose is bleeding, so I was forced to be more quiet. But I raised complaints several times again more quietly and demanded release, again was threatened by the electric shocker. There was a place where I slept several hours sitting on a chair, then I found other place and slept sitting leaning against the wall. In the morning I was allowed to drink some water and eat a bread with two sausages. I felt hurted, my head ached, but I was able to open eyes without immediate pain forcing to close my eyes again, like after the pepper spray in the night. One of soldiers gived me a tag with number and said this is instead of my smartphone, I will be transported to “special military medical commission” which will “find me fit to serve even if I am dead” and then I will be returned, receive back my smartphone before the transportation to military training unit where the smartphone will be taken from me again, and I will be a desant stormtrooper and taken to the frontline. After a while, I overheard a conversation that “others are taken by military units, but what about this too loud person, we need to sell this dragon to someone,” apparently referring to me.
Then in the day 20 March I was transported to Sviatoshynsky district TCC in Kyiv (Hlazovoho Street, 1, Kyiv). On the way, when the minibus stopped at places where people are walking in center of Kyiv and closer to the TCC, I knocked in window and cried that I am Yurii Sheliazhenko, prisoner of conscience, ask to help, report about tortures and demand my release. I was detained there, and there was no medical commission and no return back for my smartphone. There was also one Jehovah’s Witness detained like me, and soldiers referred to him comparing him to me and saying he is more quiet. I had no opportunity to get acquainted with the person. One recruiter in the room said me that he would offer me to work with drones in army, but the Orthodox Church prohibits to have any deals with Quakers and Jehovah’s Witnesses, so he will not offer me the job because my faith is “prohibited”. He also demonstrated me a decoration from the Orthodox Church. I assured him that I am Quaker and conscientious objector and have no need in any war jobs, and Jehovah’s Witnesses to my knowledge will not probably serve the war effort too.
I continued to complain on arbitrary detention and torture, demand release, preach, pray, and explain that wars are no good and we should stop Russian aggression by popular nonviolent action developed institutionally by creating a nonmilitary service for protection and building of peace in Ukraine and in the world. When the police took new and new arbitrarily detained, when their body cameras were on (there were no body cameras on TCC personnel anywhere I was detained, though there were some surveillance cameras), I demanded to record my crime report regarding arbitrary detention and torture and coercion to abandon my religion and beliefs and become a soldier. My requests to record crime report and to take me to court were ignored, and police officers turned off their cameras when I started to raise complaints. Hours went after hours, I initially was denied in water and food but allowed to go to toilet; I asked for toilet paper, but soldier on duty and other soldiers several times refused to give the toilet paper in a humiliating manner, suggesting to wipe myself by hands and threatening not to allow me a toilet at all. I was forced to use my hands and wash them after the humiliating treatment; luckily, there was a liquid soap.
I was used that hardly anyone listen and the soldiers respond with laughing and verbal offences, but I continued to tell truth to soldiers and civilians detained here like me. After one of my complaints and prayers and short lectures about peace and human rights a soldier on duty in the room where I was detained with others said I must be happy because the monitoring visit comes from the General Staff and Minister Fedorov. After my numerous demands to release me or take to the court according to the law, I was forcibly detained alone for several hours in an empty “restroom” with a lot of outdated military regulations books, posters advertising recruitment and a small table full of Bibles and New Testaments, and a box full of New Testaments in pixel-styled cover under the table. I took the opportunity to read from Isaiah, turned of the light and slept in a couch. I awoke at night, it was cold, and an officer came and asked my name, I raised my complaints again. I tried to sleep again, but it was too cold. I closed the barred window, turned the light off, but then another officer came and asked about my smartphone. I told him how my smartphone was forcibly taken and given him a tag. He went out, returned after a while and said I will be returned back to the Pechersk TCC in the morning, returned me the tag. I tried to sleep again, but the doors were unlocked again and another officer came and started to offend me using obscene words, responding with contempts to my complaints. Several officers came one by one, refused to hear my complaints, one of them said I am found fit and will be a stormtrooper. He refused to listen that I am a conscientious objector and went away. The last time a relatively calm and polite officer came, asked my name, I raised my complaints, emphasized that apart of being a conscientious objector that should not be forced to serve war against my antiwar beliefs by coercion in violation of Article 18 (3) of the ICCPR, I am also a scientific worker with PhD and I am not subject to military mobilization according to Article 23 of the Law of Ukraine “On Mobilization Preparation and Mobilization”. He responded that if I am here I have no deferrals or exemptions and I will be a stormtrooper, then he went out. I saw that he didn’t locked up me, so I went into a corridor and entered a room nearby full of fellow detainees, sharing their stories how they were taken by force, deprived of smartphones and any opportunity to contact relatives or put in order their affairs before being forcibly taken to military training and then to frontline. There was a taxi driver forcibly taken from his car when he transported a client, a restaurant chef, a drunk person taken during a walk home, a person who was forcibly taken to TCC when he called the police to complain that his neighbor behaves improperly. I asked for food and drink and they said “only this”. They apparently refused to eat suspicious food taken hours earlier without any plates or utensils, the plastic busket with cold sausages and barley. After some search, we found two dirty spoons, one of them teaspoon, and after complaints a soldier found two plates. I washed in toiled a teaspoon and had some meal. There was also a bottle of water almost empty, electric kettle and tea, so I washed in the toilet a small metallic mug, had a tea. I said a few words of encouragement to fellow detainees, who complained they now have no choice and nobody listens them, I explained the Father in heaven listens to everyone with love, that our bodies could be imprisoned but our spirit with Christ’s help will overcome all unfreedom and other pains of war, but we need to be ready to work tirelessly for peace in good ways acceptable to conscience. Some were skeptical and contemptuous, but I saw that others were almost convinced and relieved. My had and face and body was still in pain, so I found a room full of bunk beds and slept there. Early in morning I went to the rest room and enjoyed reading the Gospel of Matthew, but my vision was still unwell and eyes tired and hurting, so I went to sleep again.
I awoke in the day, came to toilet, there was again no toilet paper and I was threatened to not be allowed to the toilet if insist on the toilet paper. After taking some relief, I tried again to ask for toilet paper, now opened the door when staying half of my body in state of nature. The room was full of soldiers and detainees. I was told to wait, and after a few minutes the big roll of toilet paper was taken. When I left the toilet, I demanded to be released or taken to the court, there was laughing and verbal offences, but I continued to insist it is not funny. One soldier started to forcibly take me away and I fell. I went up and continued my complaints. There was a door to street, usually closed by a key when I made previously attempts to leave the place and was forcibly stopped. I say I am a free person and I am going away. I saw near the soldier on duty a woman with a badge, she laughed on me with others, but maybe it had something to do with what happened next. Unlike other times, I was not forcibly stopped from quitting, but behind the doors there were soldiers and a minibus for transportation of people. The soldiers initially tried to stop me, but then something happened, maybe the divine intervention, and nobody stopped me from going away, one man in military uniform accompanied me and I was allowed to leave on the checkpoint probably because of this. I was on the street, without money, only with the keys from my apartment and the tag for my mobile phone that I may never receive back. I was before in this part of city, so I found a subway station Sviatoshyn, and good people paid for me to go through the subway.
This is how I am free now, thanks to the spirit that led me to tell the truth.
My next steps, I think – to get new SIM card and to complain, maybe directly to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions (WGAD) because I see no legal remedies in Ukraine for what happened to me, it happens with many people and courts and even the parliamentary human rights commissioner respond to complaints with contempt, saying that everyone must serve in army.
Written in hurry. Subject to revisions – not even able to re-read carefully all written. If something bad happens to me immediately and I will not be able to complain, please find someone who could help to make the propep complaint.
Thank you for care, solidarity and upholding.
You are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14)
In Friendship
Yurii”
quakers-in-ireland.ie 