Wanted to earn some extra money in Russia – ended up in a drug den

A resident of Chernihiv went to Moscow to earn some extra money – and ended up in a shop where drugs were manufactured. The man was forced to engage in illegal fishing and was actually imprisoned. When the shop was exposed by law enforcement officers, the Ukrainian was placed in a pre-trial detention center. Lawyers from the Chernihiv office of the Legal Development Network are helping to understand the situation.

In February 2017, the parents of 30-year-old Oleksandr Malanyuk*, who had fallen into a situation related to human trafficking, contacted the Office under the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights.

The man found an ad that in Russia he could earn good money at a sports nutrition factory. He knew about it, because he was an athlete himself.

At the request of his future employers, Alexander passed a polygraph test. And in October 2016, after warning his relatives, he left for Moscow.

They took his phone and forced him to make drugs

In Russia, Alexander was met and taken to his place of work. On the way, the “employers” took his mobile phone, broke the phone, and broke the SIM card.

The man was taken to the outskirts of the city, to a private house with a large fence, and left there – supposedly to get acquainted with the work.

As it turned out later, the workshop did not produce sports nutrition, but drugs. The man was forced to work there. It was impossible to get out of the workshop, there was no connection with his family.

Oleksandr received chemical burns at the factory. The man needed medical care, but he was refused.

After 2 months, the workshop was covered by law enforcement officers. Oleksandr was charged. Today he is in a pre-trial detention center in Moscow.

When lawyers began to deal with the case of Oleksandr Malanyuk, it turned out that there are a lot of such people in Ukraine. State authorities are also aware of this case.

together with developed an algorithm for providing assistance to victims of labor slavery. You can read it in the consultation of the Office’s lawyer

Natalia Kulikova

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The Office’s lawyers wrote a statement about the crime to the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation and to the law enforcement agencies of Ukraine. Today, they are waiting for the results of the appeal and the court decision in Russia.

– We are trying to control and monitor this case. It was transferred through the International Organization for Migration to the UHHRU, because they are the ones who are dealing with it at the all-Ukrainian level, – comments Natalia Kulikova. – As for the prospects, it is difficult to say. We hope that everything will work out… However, since this is the Russian Federation, everything is difficult, just like with the prisoners. But everyone is working for a positive resolution of the case. Three people (out of more than 80) have already returned from Russia.

The Office’s lawyer Natalia Kulikova previously spoke about typical cases when Ukrainian migrant workers became victims of human trafficking in Russia. And that during 2015-2016, the first case of mass enslavement of Ukrainians in the Russian Federation was recorded.

*Name changed for ethical reasons

P.S. The offices of the Legal Development Network were created and operate with the support of the program initiative “Human Rights and Justice”. Read more about the network’s activities, principles and principles of work on the website.