“They broke a shovel and threatened to rape him with a handle” How are Russian prisoners being forced to fight against Ukraine? 

Prisoners from the Penza region of Russia are being tortured, beaten and threatened with rape, forcing them to sign a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense. Their relatives told about this to Radio Liberty’s Sever.Realii project. The prisoners forced to sign the contract have already been taken to the Rostov region, after which they have lost contact with them. 

The editors are not publishing the names of the prisoners for reasons of their safety and at the request of their relatives.  

“Like with non-humans” 

In late April, relatives of 58-year-old prisoner Pavel P. from Penza, who was due to be released in a few months, received a sudden call from an unknown number. It was Pavel - he said he had been forced to sign a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense through torture. In 2023, he was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison on charges of drug production. He was supposed to be released in the fall of 2026. 

“They sentenced him to prison under Article 228 for growing marijuana at home. Well, he’s not an angel, but he didn’t harm anyone. And they started beating him. First in VK-7, then in Bekovo (a correctional center in the village of Bekovo, also in the Penza region). I went to visit him, he was all blue from beatings. I wrote reports, but it only got worse. By the end of April, they had completely “finished him off” - he signed a contract. I think it was because of the threats of rape. Before that, he had endured the beatings and refused. But the last time they broke a shovel and shoved the handle under his nose: they said, now we’re going to rape you,” says the victim’s relative Hanna (we don’t mention the names of the interlocutors for security reasons). 

“He would never have agreed to that of his own free will. He was against any war. And he understood very well that now no one would return from there. What about freedom as soon as possible? Pavlo should be released in September this year. What should happen first?" 

Pavlo was supposed to be released from the correctional center in the village of Bekovo on September 14. 

"On April 25, he called from another number and said that ten prisoners from the center were being taken for tests. It is not clear why they would do this, if one of the prisoners had hepatitis and was taken to Rostov the next day anyway," says Hanna.  

“He said he tried to escape while they were being taken to the position, but there was no chance. Nine others who were traveling with him were also forced to sign a contract. They were all beaten, some had open wounds. This is treatment as if they were non-humans.” 

In May, according to Hanna, Pavlo did not appear again. Before that, he said they were brought to the training ground “for training.” 

“They were told they would be at the training ground for a week - and then they would be thrown to the front. How could they be trained for war in a week? Nothing. He was not even in the army,” says Hanna. 

At the time of publication, there had been no response to her complaints to the Penza Oblast Prosecutor’s Office. 

“They strangled him until he passed out.” 

57-year-old Igor K. was serving his sentence in Colony No. 5 in Serdobsk, Penza Oblast, on charges of organizing. 

On the same day as the prisoners from the Bekovo center – April 25 – Igor and two other convicts from VK-5 were brought to the military committee in Penza.  

“They took his blood for analysis at the military committee, then took him to a separate office, where they first tricked him into signing a contract. They said they were going to “renovate apartment buildings,” says the prisoner’s relative Olga. “Igor immediately refused and asked for a medical examination. Since he has two chronic diseases, a heart defect that is a contraindication to service, he was not in the army. After that, they started mocking and beating him.” 

According to Olga, the prisoners were lined up against a wall - one was wearing a down jacket, fully buttoned up, and the others - bags. 

“It was very hot in the room. They were kept in a heated room for several hours in buttoned down jackets, then their hands were tied and bags were pulled over their heads. Igor fainted. When he came to, they gave him a contract to sign - he refused. Then they started hitting him on the head until he fainted,” says Olga. 

“One executioner was strangling him, the other was hitting him on the head. The other guy signed at that moment. Igor refused, demanding a medical examination.” 

According to the convict’s relatives, a medical examination at the military commissariat gave him a category “D” – unfit. 

“The person who was strangling him was standing nearby. He said: “They’ll sort it out there” and returned Igor to the office of the “torture center.” Then they began to threaten him with rape. They tied him up, and the one who was “strangling” him began to ask for a condom. They said they would “let him go.” At that, Igor broke down. He signed. Now he is in the Rostov region, they are preparing him for attacks," says Olga. 

According to relatives, the prisoner was assigned to military unit number 41885, in the assault company. 

"Everyone who went there [to the war] for money has long since left. Now they manage to do it only in this way - by force, by torture. In a system where torture is the basis, it is not surprising. But all the recent cases that we have seen - they are already torturing people in military offices, after they have already taken them out of the VK. But, judging by the nature of the torture, the military commissariats took over the whole experience of torture of FSV officers "turnkey", says human rights activist Veniamin, who specializes in for the rights of prisoners.  

“Tens of thousands [of prisoners] were definitely recruited by force.” 

In 2025, “Sibir.Realii” already reported on the pressure on prisoners in Russian prisons, who were forced to sign contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense and go to war. Relatives of convicts and prisoners themselves told reporters about beatings, threats, raids by FSVP and OMON officers, as well as punishment for refusing to go to the front. According to the editorial office, the situation became especially difficult after the number of those willing to go to the front began to decrease. 

After refusing to sign the contract, they were beaten, placed in punishment cells or threatened with new criminal proceedings. Some agreed to be sent to war after several months of pressure. Relatives of recruits said that after being sent to the front, many stopped communicating or died. 

In 2026, new evidence of pressure emerged, particularly on female prisoners and migrants held in Russian prisons. 

“The prisoners were not given food for 10 days to ‘break down’ and agree to leave. Parents said that some girls, fearing they would be sent to war, attempted suicide,” Uzbek citizen Umida told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s regional service, Azattyk Asia, which covers events in Central Asia, about her compatriots in Russian prisons.