Anna Maria Casella

Valentyna, the woman who exposed a secret Azov detention facility near Kyiv, is explaining to journalists in court why she went there in the first place. She went there to save a man's life. She was asked to help by a woman named Tetiana, who has also been arrested (!). The man was in critical condition and desperately needed medical attention. He had recently undergone surgery. He had a stoma — part of his intestine had been surgically brought out through an opening in his abdomen. On top of that, he was suffering from five other serious medical conditions. And despite all this, he was being held there against his will, by force. Valentyna went there as a medical professional, trying to rescue a man who urgently needed help. She had no idea the place was an alleged secret Azov detention facility. And now, because this involves the untouchable, "elite" Azov, she is the one they are going to crucify. She is the one they will persecute. She is the one they will try to blame for everything. Not the people who held men captive by force. Not the people who were beating them. Not those responsible for what happened inside that facility. No. The woman who came to help a seriously ill man is the one being treated as the criminal. Do you understand the sheer perversity of this?