A bag on his head and Death Metal on repeat: a Briton talked about his experiences in captivity in the Russian Federation (video)
In general, I distinguished what was good and what was bad," the Briton shared in an interview with Channel 24. According to him, hearing has become the main tool of orientation. It was necessary to assess the situation by small signs — from the shine of the floor to people's shoes. However, attentiveness allowed for a sense of control, and the experience of working in a pub and military distrust became helpful in survival.
Pinner recalled learning to distinguish between "normal" prison noise and to pick up on deviations that signaled movement or a changing of guards. So he made a map of space in his head, although he did not actually see it. In addition, it helped to anticipate danger and keep emotions under control. "Your life is sound. Off the camera or on the ground, it is a pattern of life, a norm.
You define the abnormal in the normal, what instinctively happens in such an environment," the military man emphasized. In the breaks between interrogations, heavy music played, which eventually became an element of the routine. The Briton learned to count the hours and determine the shift by the number of songs. "I mean, for example, Death Metal was playing there. ABBA was playing in the second prison, it was terrible. They were constantly listening to Death Metal on repeat.
I could tell the time of day by the number of songs. 17 songs of three minutes each. I could calculate the length of the playlist," Pinner shared. He said that the song "Believe" by the American singer Cher was played every day in Makiivka, and even after the release, the motif turned into a kind of memory of survival. However, humor and camaraderie helped not to lose humanity and survive the most difficult days.
Jokes and support of comrades, despite the cruel conditions of detention, helped to hold on to the belief in returning home. "When I came back, the headlines read: British prisoner Sean Pinner returns home, death by ABBA. It wasn't quite like that, but they focused on one thing - ABBA," said the Briton. He recalled that even in captivity, the soldiers looked for scraps of something normal, in particular, they joked, sang and talked about their relatives.
Such moments saved the psyche better than medical help and will remain with Pinner forever. It will be recalled that Sean Pinner fought on the side of the Armed Forces and was sentenced to death by the "DNR". He joined the Ukrainian army in 2017 and has a wife from Ukraine. In 2022, the Briton was captured during the battle for Mariupol, and in captivity he endured abuse and torture, including beatings and starvation.