People protesting against the occupation in Berdiansk are beaten and detained
Valentyna Romanenko - Sunday, 20 March 2022, 14:46
In Berdiansk, Zaporizhzhia oblast, on 20 March, about 200-250 people peacefully protested against Russian occupying forces. The Russian military began beating and detaining protesters.
Source: Hromadske, quoting a local woman and a video provided by her
Details: It is stated that people had gathered on the embankment. During the protest they held Ukrainian flags and sang songs. Later they went down the main street to the building of the executive authority of the city, where the Russian military is based.
According to the protesters, more and more Russian soldiers were coming and they started to surround the people. About 60 participants went back to the embankment. Then the soldiers started pushing people onto the ground.
"Then they started strip-searching people and searching people’s things," the girl said.
In addition, the Russian occupying forces fired into the air.
The woman said that they pushed all the other people back, threatening to shoot them in the legs. It is unknown what happened to those who were pushed onto the ground and searched. They were probably detained because there were two paddy wagons nearby.
Background: On 28 February, Russian occupying forces temporarily captured a district in the city of Berdiansk on the shores of the Sea of Azov. Protests against the occupation take place in the city every day.
