A UN report includes cases of torture by Russia and Ukraine against prisoners of war and civilians

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights published this Tuesday a report that includes numerous cases of torture and executions by Russia and Ukraine against prisoners of war (also against civilians in the Russian case) ranging from December 1, 2023 until February 29, 2024. However, the Office highlights that these types of actions regarding the treatment of prisoners are “extensive” and “routine” in Russian detention centers, facilities that often They are in conditions that do not comply with the requirements of International Humanitarian Law, according to 60 testimonies from released Ukrainian prisoners and which have also been compared with others previously documented and with other public information. “The prisoners of war have provided credible and detailed accounts that are consistent with the Office’s previous findings that torture and ill-treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war interned in Russia is widespread and routine, and the prisoners of war are held in conditions that do not comply with the requirements of International Humanitarian Law,” the document reads. The most common methods of torture recorded include beatings, electric shocks, threats of execution, mock executions, and other types of physical torture. “A Ukrainian prisoner of war described that he had been captured by the Russian Armed Forces (…) and taken to a shed of a house, where three Russian soldiers interrogated and tortured him to obtain military information. The attackers kicked him in the face and torso with such force that they broke his ribs, they suffocated him with a plastic bag and threatened to execute him and cut off his ear while they pressed a knife against it,” the Office reported. Additionally, prisoners have often been fed limited amounts of low-quality food, leading to extensive weight loss and other physical problems. The Russian authorities also left some prisoners outdoors during the winter period, causing illness in the prisoners, who also suffered from a lack of health care and hygiene, reaching the point of registering cases of tuberculosis. The agency has expressed that this type of treatment against prisoners has caused a great “physical and mental” impact on the victims, who could face adverse effects for a long period of time. In fact, the death of a prisoner of war under internment as a result of torture has been documented, while many others have attempted suicide. Likewise, it has documented the arbitrary detention of at least 66 civilians (55 men, ten women and one children), some of whom have been victims of torture, ill-treatment or sexual violence. RUSSIAN PRISONERS OF WAR REPORT ON TORTURE The Ukrainian side is not immune to accusations of torture either, and most of the 44 interviewed have reported torture or ill-treatment while being transferred to detention centers, although not inside them. “The Government of Ukraine has continued to grant the Office full access to official internment facilities holding Russian prisoners of war. Although these Russian prisoners of war have not reported torture in those facilities, they provided credible accounts of torture or ill-treatment. treatment in transit locations after their immediate evacuation from the battlefield,” the statement said. The prisoners have detailed stays in “unidentified basements” for periods ranging from days to weeks, where they were subjected to violent interrogations, where Ukrainian forces punched them, hit them with wooden mallets and sticks, gave them electric shocks, They performed mock executions and two of them received threats of sexual violence. Unlike the Russian case, the UN has recognized that Ukrainian authorities are making efforts to improve the detention conditions of Russian prisoners, including three-minute calls with their families or the establishment of medical commissions to examine detainees and even recommend their repatriation or treatment in neutral countries. kyiv asked Moscow to join this initiative, although it assures that they have not responded favorably. The organization has criticized that the Ukrainian Justice has convicted civilians as “collaborators” in cases in which they worked with the occupying forces in activities related to the distribution of aid to the needy, and that they account for 10 percent of this type of convictions. , which usually include between one and 15 years in prison. In addition, the report includes the death in custody of a Ukrainian blogger detained for “justifying Russia’s armed attack against Ukraine”, and whose causes of death were “acute lung and heart failure, bilateral pneumonia, bilateral hydrothorax and dilated cardiomyopathy.” Previously, the same blogger informed his father in writing that he had health problems and that the prison authorities ignored him. Although the authorities of both countries have initiated investigations regarding torture (in the Russian case it is a specific case), none of them have come to fruition. CASES OF EXECUTIONS AGAINST PRISONERS OF WAR AND CIVILIANS The Office has also recorded reports on the execution of at least 32 Ukrainian prisoners of war, verifying the case of seven of them, who were surrendering to Russian troops when they were executed. Likewise, it has collected “credible allegations” about the summary execution of ten civilians (six men and four women). Although the agency has verified this type of acts against civilians on other occasions, it has specified that it needs to collect more information about these cases. Since the start of the invasion in February 2022, Russian forces have executed 155 civilians (128 men, 22 women, three boys and two girls). For their part, Ukrainian forces have executed at least 25 Russian soldiers.