Maria Varfolomeeva

Maria Varfolomeeva is a Ukrainian freelance journalist from Luhansk. She worked with local and Ukrainian media and documented events in the city after Russian-backed armed groups took control.

On January 9, 2015, security personnel of the self-proclaimed “Luhansk People’s Republic” detained Varfolomeeva while she was photographing a residential building. Her captors accused her of directing Ukrainian artillery fire and of links to Right Sector. Human Rights Watch later documented her case through a detailed interview conducted after her release.

Varfolomeeva said she spent her first night in a basement run by the local “Interior Ministry.” During questioning, interrogators displayed batons and electric-shock devices and threatened to use them if she did not give the answers they wanted. She was subsequently transferred to the “LPR Ministry of State Security” and later to the Luhansk detention centre.

On March 27, 2015, the “LPR” security service claimed its investigation was complete and alleged that Varfolomeeva belonged to an illegal armed formation. However, according to HRW, her case never went to trial, and she was never convicted or sentenced.

Several attempted prisoner exchanges failed during 2015 and early 2016. On March 3, 2016, after approximately 14 months in detention, Varfolomeeva was finally released in an exchange with the Ukrainian side.