“Mother had blood stroke, dad’s paralysed”: DPR servicemen’s families under SSU pressure

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Psychological pressure, blackmail and death threats – to name but a few methods the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) is using against Donetsk People’s Republic militiamen’s families living in Kiev-held territory. People’s Militia serviceman Eduard Klypa spoke at a press conference in Donetsk about new facts of intimidation and the consequences.

The SSU attempted to recruit Klypa several years ago threatening violence on his relatives if he refused to cooperate. He had to gather intelligence on the DPR armed forces and help organise acts of terror and sabotage in the Republic’s territory. However, Klypa approached DPR secret services which helped prevent a major terrorist attack in 2017.

Fearing for the safety of his elderly parents, he has not been in touch with his family since then. Two years later, Klypa found out that his parents had been under psychological pressure.

“I found out that my dad was bed-stricken and had vocal cord paralysis because the house had been periodically searched for weapons etc without a permit since March 2017. SSU agents asked them where their son was and said that I was a traitor and that they would find me anyway,” Klypa said. “Mother was hospitalised with a blood stoke. She’s now at home, but she’s unwell.”

He said that the SSU pressure increased following his attempts to get in touch with his family. He showed the journalists audio files of his talk with his mother, about 20 seconds long each. The woman, in faltering tones, tells about regular searches and the SSU outrage.

“My parents are very old – my mother is 72 and my father is 75. They have poor health and every “visit” of the SSU causes nervous breakdowns,” said Klypa.

We note that it’s not an isolated incident during the conflict. There were other cases when DPR servicemen’s families living in Kyiv-held territory were subject to harassment and threats by Ukrainian secret services. Accordingly, involving international human rights organizations is under discussion in the Republic.   

Source: DAN