Yesterday, inside the Italian Senate, lawmakers watched a film the Kremlin never wanted them to see.
Prisoners: System of Terror, a documentary by independent Russian media outlet Activatica, exposes a vast and secret Russian prison network holding tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians without charge. Ordinary people disappeared into detention centres, stripped of legal rights and contact with their families.
The screening marked a major moment for accountability — and for journalism that refuses to look away.
The film was produced with support from Journalists for Human Rights (JHR) through our Activating Independent Russian and Belarusian Journalists to Combat Information Manipulation project, which enables independent journalists to report on human rights abuses, including Russia’s war in Ukraine, and counter information manipulation targeting Russian and Belarusian diaspora audiences.
At the Senate screening, Activatica co-founder Evgenia Chirikova stood alongside relatives of detained Ukrainian civilians, urging Italian lawmakers to adopt a resolution condemning Russian state terror.
Former Ukrainian prisoner Oleksandr Tarasov, who escaped Russian imprisonment and is featured in the documentary, delivered a direct appeal: that Italian parliamentarians politically sponsor individual Ukrainian civilian prisoners and actively work toward securing their release.
This wasn’t the first time the documentary has driven political action.
Earlier this year, Prisoners: System of Terror was screened at the European Parliament. Shortly after, the Parliament passed a resolution condemning Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine and backing investigations by the International Criminal Court.
JHR President Rachel Pulfer wrote more about the documentary’s impact in her Dec 10 Toronto Star op-ed for Human Rights Day.
With your support this holiday season, JHR will support more journalism like this in 2026 — journalism that cuts through apathy, exposes human rights abuses, and demands accountability.
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