Mariano Garcia Calatayud, a 75-year-old Spanish pensioner, has been missing and incommunicado since the start of the large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. The scarce information available indicates that during his captivity he was subjected to torture and other harassment, such as electric shocks and dog bites. Amnesty International launched this Wednesday a campaign to collect signatures demanding the immediate release of Russia.

The beneficiary of the initiative is Valery Georgievich PetrovRussia’s chief military prosecutor, “the man who can and should order Mariano’s release, investigate allegations of torture, and bring those responsible to justice,” the organization slips.

Mariano spoke to Independent on the eve of the Russian military operation. “I did not take up arms, but I am also fully aware that, God forbid, if one day the time comes for me, I will take it up to protect myself and my fellow volunteers,” he admitted.

Mariano Garcia Calatayud is a Spanish citizen. In 2014, he left Valencia and moved to Kherson, in southern Ukraine, with his Ukrainian wife. He worked as a volunteer, delivered humanitarian aid to children affected by the war. In March 2022, he participated in a peaceful protest against the Russian occupation. He was arrested and nothing more was heard from him.

Mariano Garcia, a native of Valencia, poses in a series of photos taken in areas affected by the conflict between Ukrainians and pro-Russian separatists in the country’s east.

The Valencian has lived in Ukraine since the 2014 Euromaidan protests hastened the fall of Viktor Yanukovych’s government, and the conflict with Russia dusted off old disputes and territorial ambitions that have never been resolved. He remains missing and incommunicado since his arrest in Ukraine by the Russian occupation forces on March 19, 2022.

He settled in Kherson, in southern Ukraine, with his Ukrainian wife. He worked as a volunteer, delivered humanitarian aid to children affected by the war. In March 2022, he participated in a peaceful protest against the Russian occupation. He was arrested and nothing has been heard from him since.

He is currently being held in the Simferopol SIZO.

Officially, he went missing until April 2023, that is, more than a year later, when the Russian authorities officially acknowledged his detention. He is currently being held in the Simferopol SIZO, more than 200 kilometers from Kherson.

All this time he was without communication with the outside world. Other people also held in the same center witnessed torture and other harassment, such as electric shocks and dog bites, suffered by Mariano, who served 75 years behind bars. Amnesty warns that his health condition is seriously deteriorating and urgent action is needed to secure his release.

The organization says Mariano’s case is no exception. “While there are no reliable numbers, there are reports of hundreds of civilians from the occupied Ukrainian territories who were subjected to enforced disappearance by the Russian authorities and who are currently illegally held incommunicado,” he adds. Remember also that secret detention is illegal and enforced disappearance is a crime under international law.