Russian soldiers have been accused of torturing an innocent man after mistaking him for a Ukrainian spy near a key airbase.
The victim, Ruslan Khammatov, was subjected to horrific treatment at the hands of four masked military personnel, who allegedly used pliers in an attempt to tear off his ear and inflicted severe injuries in their quest for a confession.
Narrating his ordeal to Russian news outlet Sota, Khammatov detailed the harrowing experience, including physical assault, threats of sexual violence, and false accusations.
Despite his protests of innocence and evidence on his phone indicating his pro-Russian stance, the soldiers continued their violent interrogation, leaving him battered and bloodied.
The situation took a bizarre turn when the soldiers realised their mistake but chose to cover it up by coercing Khammatov to lie to the traffic police about the circumstances of his injuries.
The police, complicit in the deception, fined him for a minor offence instead of addressing the human rights violations he had suffered.
Khammatov, now seeking justice for the ordeal he endured, recounted being stopped by the soldiers without evidence of wrongdoing and subjected to a terrifying ordeal that left him physically and emotionally scarred.
He said: “I was stopped by a group of four men in military uniform and balaclavas.
“Introducing themselves as a rapid response team, they stopped me and pointed Kalashnikovs at me. They checked my documents and phone number, took the motorcycle and escorted me.
“No evidence of any guilt was presented to me, they beat me…”
He added: “They hit me on the forehead with a [gun] butt, pulled my ear with pliers, and broke my ribs. They threatened to rape me, to shove a stun gun up my anus, to cut off my testicle.
“They found out that I was divorced – and said this meant I was gay.”