More than 15,000 Ukrainian civilians have been detained at some point in the territories occupied by Russia, at least 1,800 remain deprived of their freedom and more than 90% of them were victims of torture and ill-treatment, said this Tuesday the head of the UN Human Rights Mission in Ukraine, Danielle Bell.
In a teleconference communication from Kyiv, Bell denounced systematic and widespread torture by Russia against the civilians it detains, to whom it applies its own legislation instead of Ukrainian laws, as dictated by international humanitarian law.
While in the first months of the Russian invasion the detention of Ukrainian civilians was massive, subsequently detentions have focused on anyone who expressed critical opinions against Russia’s military operation or against its armed forces.
One of the main sources used by the mission were direct interviews with 215 released civilians, who offered coherent and detailed accounts of the treatment they received in captivity, in addition to interviews with family members and lawyers.
One of the elements that emerged from these interviews was the participation in certain cases of medical personnel in the acts of torture, but not with the intention of providing care to the detainees, but rather to refine the torture techniques used.
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The interviewed victims after their release – after having managed to leave the areas occupied by Russia and move to areas controlled by Ukraine – described to human rights personnel the types of torture they suffered, such as severe beatings and electric shocks, mock executions, prolonged stress positions and threats of death and violence against them or their loved ones, as well as sexual violence.
The Human Rights Mission also provided information on the detention of Ukrainian citizens in their own country, on charges generally related to national security, such as treason and espionage.
Most criminal cases related to the conflict include charges of collaboration based on an individual’s interaction or alleged cooperation with the Russian occupation authorities.
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Some Ukrainians were prosecuted for carrying out emergency services, construction, humanitarian assistance, and garbage collection during the occupation, activities that may legally be demanded by the occupying authorities, the UN explained.
This happened in cases where Ukraine regained control of areas it had lost to the Russian invader.
Detentions of that type have led to as many as 2,258 Ukrainians being held in official pre-trial detention and penitentiary centers (figure updated as of last July), in addition to 20,000 open cases, which has put the Ukrainian criminal justice system under strong pressure.
