Khyliuk, a journalist, was held in the earliest days of the invasion, when Russian troops advanced towards the capital Kyiv.
He said he knew Hubbard’s health was declining over the months they were initially held in nearby cells because he heard his complaints and the guards calling him more often to see the prison doctor.
Khyliuk described broken windows and biting cold, with detainees using time out of their cells to huddle together in the bathroom for warmth.
“It was very difficult conditions in Novozybkov, worse than in the next prison. It was very cold there in winter, terribly cold,” he said.
Both men encountered the retired English teacher again at their next prison, Pakino, where Shyshko says Hubbard’s condition worsened.
“There was not a single spot on his knees or on his feet without rot,” he said.
“Everything was rotten. We all had scabies. It was very, very difficult for him. I even bandaged him once at the medical centre, because the doctor didn’t want to do it. He just couldn’t do it himself, and I had to help. He was quite weak then and he almost couldn’t move.”
They detailed a harsh regime and a meagre diet of porridge, bread and potatoes, with a daily routine of beatings and humiliation, being forced to run or hold stress positions.
“There’s a handler with a dog, who lets go so it can bite you on the buttocks, on the elbow, or bite your leg. Then these wounds fester very badly,” Shyshko said.
Khyliuk claimed that soon after their transfer to Pakino, Hubbard was hidden to conceal his condition from a team of International Red Cross visitors.
“I would like to say that an international humanitarian organisation that receives a lot of funding could do better. They saw only what was shown to them and they were happy with that,” he said.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
