For the first time since Spanish media reported about the arrest of a 75-year-old volunteer from Valencia in Kherson, the Military Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Black Sea Fleet has confirmed that the Security Service detained Mariano Garcia Calatayud and has been holding him in a detention facility.
Mariano Garcia was illegally detained in Kherson on 19 March 2022 during a protest against the Russian occupation. He became the first Spanish citizen to fall into the hands of Russian troops, Levante-EMV writes.
Several days later, Russian media outlets falsely claimed that Garcia had been released. According to Levante-EMV, Mariano Garcia could have been held in Simferopol SIZO-1 at least until April 8.
Garcia’s alleged inmate, Yevgeniy Yamkoviy, told the media that the 75-year-old man was tortured: he had bruises from beatings on his legs, he lost some of his teeth, and was subjected to torture by the prison guards. “His body was covered with bruises and scars,” he said.
