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On Tuesday, the United Nations Office for Human Rights said that Russian forces carried out systematic and widespread torture of civilians arrested in connection with its attack on Ukraine, and summarily executed dozens of them.
The global body interviewed hundreds of victims and witnesses for a report detailing more than 900 cases of civilians, including children and the elderly, being arbitrarily detained in the conflict, most of them by Russia.
The head of the UN human rights office in Ukraine said that the vast majority of those interviewed said they had been tortured and in some cases subjected to sexual violence while in detention by Russian forces.
“Torture was used to coerce the victims into confessing to aiding the Ukrainian Armed Forces, to coerce them into cooperating with the occupation authorities or to intimidate those with pro-Ukrainian views,” Matilda said. Bogner.
The report, which covers a 15-month period from the beginning of the Russian invasion until May 2023, documented 75 cases of arbitrary detention by Ukrainian security forces, saying a large proportion of them also amounted to enforced disappearance.
Bogner said that more than half of those detained by Ukrainian forces reported being tortured or ill-treated, usually during their interrogation or immediately after their arrest.
It said Ukraine had given UN investigators “secret and unhindered access” to detainees in official detention centres, with the exception of a group of 87 Russian sailors.
“The Russian Federation has not granted us such access, despite our requests,” Bogner said.
The United Nations Human Rights Office has previously documented the detention and execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war by Russia. The latest report found that Russian forces carried out at least 77 summary executions of civilians.
The report found that those arrested included local officials, humanitarian volunteers, pastors and teachers, many of whom were held incommunicado in “deplorable conditions”.
UN experts found no evidence that Russian authorities had investigated allegations of abuse by their forces, and the report expressed concern about a bill that would absolve perpetrators of criminal liability for crimes committed in occupied parts of Ukraine under some circumstances.
“This would violate the state’s obligation to investigate and prosecute serious violations of international humanitarian law and serious violations of international human rights law,” Bogner said.
While Ukraine has launched criminal investigations against Russian forces over the detention of civilians, resulting in 23 convictions, the UN human rights office said it was not aware of any investigations against Ukrainian forces into such abuses.
Bogner said that Ukraine’s laws regarding detention on grounds of national security “appear to go beyond what is permissible under international law, even during public emergencies, and have facilitated arbitrary detention.”
It urged both sides to provide information to relatives about the whereabouts and fate of detained persons, and to release any civilians still arbitrarily detained.
The global body interviewed hundreds of victims and witnesses for a report detailing more than 900 cases of civilians, including children and the elderly, being arbitrarily detained in the conflict, most of them by Russia.
The head of the UN human rights office in Ukraine said that the vast majority of those interviewed said they had been tortured and in some cases subjected to sexual violence while in detention by Russian forces.
“Torture was used to coerce the victims into confessing to aiding the Ukrainian Armed Forces, to coerce them into cooperating with the occupation authorities or to intimidate those with pro-Ukrainian views,” Matilda said. Bogner.
The report, which covers a 15-month period from the beginning of the Russian invasion until May 2023, documented 75 cases of arbitrary detention by Ukrainian security forces, saying a large proportion of them also amounted to enforced disappearance.
Bogner said that more than half of those detained by Ukrainian forces reported being tortured or ill-treated, usually during their interrogation or immediately after their arrest.
It said Ukraine had given UN investigators “secret and unhindered access” to detainees in official detention centres, with the exception of a group of 87 Russian sailors.
“The Russian Federation has not granted us such access, despite our requests,” Bogner said.
The United Nations Human Rights Office has previously documented the detention and execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war by Russia. The latest report found that Russian forces carried out at least 77 summary executions of civilians.
The report found that those arrested included local officials, humanitarian volunteers, pastors and teachers, many of whom were held incommunicado in “deplorable conditions”.
UN experts found no evidence that Russian authorities had investigated allegations of abuse by their forces, and the report expressed concern about a bill that would absolve perpetrators of criminal liability for crimes committed in occupied parts of Ukraine under some circumstances.
“This would violate the state’s obligation to investigate and prosecute serious violations of international humanitarian law and serious violations of international human rights law,” Bogner said.
While Ukraine has launched criminal investigations against Russian forces over the detention of civilians, resulting in 23 convictions, the UN human rights office said it was not aware of any investigations against Ukrainian forces into such abuses.
Bogner said that Ukraine’s laws regarding detention on grounds of national security “appear to go beyond what is permissible under international law, even during public emergencies, and have facilitated arbitrary detention.”
It urged both sides to provide information to relatives about the whereabouts and fate of detained persons, and to release any civilians still arbitrarily detained.
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