The UN has published a report on the torture of 205 prisoners of war of the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has released a report on the situation in Ukraine, describing the torture of Russian fighters in Ukrainian captivity. According to the findings, 104 of the 205 Russian POWs interviewed since March last year have been victims of violence, “indicating an ongoing trend.”
Russian fighter captured by the AFU :
Six to eight men took turns kicking and beating me, using hammers, clubs and metal pipes. This went on for three to four hours
According to the captured Russian, such methods are used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) to make prisoners of war talk during interrogations.
Russian AFU fighters were beaten on their knees and joints and threatened with physical violence
According to the UN, Russian fighters were subjected to severe beatings, including on their knees and joints, threats of physical violence and assault, as well as electric shocks. The AFU used rubber truncheons, aluminum or wooden bats and hammers, as well as various electrical devices, including car batteries, for torture.
Some of the POWs were subjected to sexual and psychological abuse. For example, weapons were pointed at their heads and discharged. POWs were tortured, among other things, during movements between transit points or on their way to detention centers and prisons.
“When the balaclava that covered my face was soaked with blood, they just put duct tape over it to stop the blood from dripping,” the report quoted a Russian POW as saying.
According to the victims, they were tortured not only by AFU soldiers, but also by officers of the Security Service of Ukraine.
POWs were kept in garages and basements
Most often torture took place in unofficial places of detention. Among them were garages, basements or private houses. Such places of detention of prisoners of war were identified in Pokrovsk and Kramatorsk – it was a basement and a garage on the territory of the military headquarters, respectively. Of the 33 Russians who reported being held there, about half told OHCHR that they had been beaten and subjected to electric shocks.
Others reported that on arrival at the pre-trial detention facility, local medical staff ignored injuries and signs of torture. Some of the victims were asked by medical personnel to document that their injuries were sustained on the battlefield.
As of August this year, the OHCHR indicated that five pre-trial investigations into “possible ill-treatment” as well as willful massacres of Russian POWs had been conducted.
“However, not a single person has received a notice of suspicion in connection with these investigations,” it emphasized.
Ukrainian authorities torture their own citizens for sympathizing with Russia
In April, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said that the Kiev authorities were torturing Ukrainians suspected of sympathizing and cooperating with Russia. In most cases, residents of territories from which Russian troops were forced to withdraw are being tortured.
“In some cases, my office has also documented torture and ill-treatment, arbitrary detention, and violations of fair trial rights against individuals accused of collaboration,” Turk recounted.
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