Invaders took hostage father of journalist for "RIA-Melitopol"

In Melitopol (Zaporizhzhya region), the Russian invaders took hostage the father of Svitlana Zalizetska, director of the “Holovna Gazeta Melitopolya” (Melitopol Main Newspaper) and the RIA-Melitopol website. The journalist asked IMI to make public the report on the incident.

According to RIA-Melitopol, three invaders came to the journalist's house with a search at 7 am on March 23.

Retired parents - mother and father - were in the house. One of the occupiers was in civilian clothes, and two soldiers with machine guns. Everything was turned upside down in the house. They took the 75-year-old father of Zalizetsky, Yosyp Stanislavovych, in an unknown direction. The only requirement is to return home only after the daughter comes to them. The occupiers ignored the explanation that their daughter was not in the city. Relatives are trying to find out whereabouts of Svitlana Zalizetska's father, but no reply they got.

"I regard such actions of the occupying forces of the Russian Federation as terrorism. When they abducted my old father, they try to make me collaborate or demand that the site be shut down. The occupiers found documents - a Pole's card - and began to ask my mother everything about relatives in Poland. Earlier, Halyna Danylchenko (a collaborator, head of the occupation administration of the city of Melitopol. - Ed. ) рad a preliminary "preventive" talk with me. The next meeting was to be with the commandant. The outcome was predictable, so I left the town. Otherwise, I would be sitting in the torture chambers of the occupiers' casemates, such as Mayor Ivan Fedorov, public activist Olha Haisumova and Serhiy Pryima, who is still being held captive, ”Svitlana Zalizetska said.

She appealed to all colleagues from the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine and international organizations to make the incident public and to help release her father from captivity. 

"He suffered a stroke, his mother suffered a major heart attack with cardiac arrest. I consider such methods of influence to be the Nazist ones. If something happens to my parents, it will be on the conscience of the occupiers, "said Svitlana Zalizetska.

We will remind, on March 21 the Russian occupiers abducted all staff edition of MV-holding then its head Mikhail Kumok made the decision to suspend work of all holding.