On 18 March, Dmytro Vakhnenko, a war crimes documenter at the Association, took part in an information session in Zaporizhzhia organised for civilians who survived unlawful deprivation of liberty in temporarily occupied territories, and for their families.

The session covered state guarantees available to those affected and their relatives, the procedure for engaging with law enforcement after release, the procedures for establishing the relevant statuses, and access to social, financial, medical, and psychological assistance.

Dmytro spoke about the key areas of work of the Association of Relatives of Political Prisoners of the Kremlin — advocacy at the national and international levels, legal assistance in establishing the status of deprivation of personal liberty, and the documentation of war crimes.

He gave particular attention to our analytical report After Unlawful Deprivation of Liberty: From Survival to Recovery, which sets out proposals for a state framework programme to support released civilians, and offers recommendations to government bodies and international organisations on improving rehabilitation, the restoration of rights, and social reintegration.

It matters to us that the experience of people who have lived through unlawful deprivation of liberty is heard, documented, and becomes the basis for real changes in state policy.