Story 8: Anonymous

Tigran Oganesyan, 16 y.o., was a resident of Berdiansk, a city in Zaporizhzhia region. He was a diligent student, interested in history. On September 30, 2022, Russian troops broke into a house where Tigran lived with his grandmother. It was late at night and there was no reason for such vandalism. Russians beat the teenager in front of his grandmother. Then they forcibly took away the Tigran. 

He was brought to the detention camp in Berdiansk, on the outskirts of his hometown. There he was questioned under the assumption that he helped the Armed Forces of Ukraine and delivered secret information to them. After proving his innocence, the teenager was transferred to the police station. The Russian military kept him among other Ukrainian children and men in solitary captivity and forbade anyone from seeing him in person. 

The teenager’s grandmother was looking for him for a long time around Berdiansk. But when she found her grandson, Russians forbid to see him. The woman was only permitted to give him clothes, food, and medication. After a while, the teenager was released from the Russian captivity. He returned home to his grandmother, but the family was being watched and lived in constant anxiety.

Throughout this period, Tigran’s parents were residing in Germany. After the situation unfolded, they attempted to return to occupied Berdiansk to reunite with their child. Regrettably, they encountered obstacles and were unable to take Tigran with them. The entire family was apprehended in Russian Taganrog, and Tigran himself was prohibited from leaving Berdiansk.

On May 24, 2023, the teenager faced charges under Article 281 of the Criminal Code of Russia, which carries a sentence of 10 to 20 years in prison. According to the Russian investigator, in early September 2022, Tigran was accused of conspiring to provide support to the Armed Forces. Additionally, both teenagers were allegedly involved in sabotaging railway tracks to prevent the Russian armed forces from receiving material assistance.

On May 26, 2023, Berdiansk occupation authorities confirmed that Tigran was dead. Supposedly, Russian forces killed the teenager for protesting against the occupation.