As it has become known to the UHHRU from its own sources, the system of free legal assistance in the occupied territories has completely ceased functioning.

The prisoners are forced by physical coercion or threats to write waivers of the previously appointed defenders or to completely waive the defenders’ services.

The most notorious incident between the prisoners and the “government” in this regard took place on March 10, when 14 prisoners were cruelly beaten when they were escorted from the Donetsk pretrial detention facility to the Voroshylivskyi District Court of Donetsk.