Oleksandr Irkha (ru. Александр Ирха)
Date of birth: 23 February 1979
Missing since: 12 April 2022
Last known location: Mariupol city

Oleksandr comes from the city of Mariupol and works as a tractor driver. Before his abduction, he worked for a company that collected and processed scrap metal.

Abduction

On 12 April 2022, Oleksandr was arrested by the Russian military near his home and taken to a so-called filtration camp in the village of Besymenne. Filtration camps are former Soviet facilities where alleged enemies of the state and separatists were to be tracked down. Since the Russian attack in 2022, there have been renewed reports of such camps.

Oleksandr was then handcuffed and taken to a prison in Donetsk, where he was held for almost a year and a half. After this time, he was transferred to Remand Prison No. 1 in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. Oleksandr is currently being held in Remand Prison No. 5 in the same city.
Oleksandr has been wrongfully accused of terrorism and faces 22 years in prison. Around 30 court hearings have already taken place in this sham trial against him.

Health

Before his imprisonment, Oleksandr had no known health problems. Since his imprisonment, he has had problems with his legs because Russian prison guards force him to stand all day or else they beat him. The beatings have already caused him to lose almost all of his teeth and he has problems with his eyesight.

Status: August 2025