About 90% of Ukrainian prisoners of war whose cases are being considered by Russian courts are accused of terrorism instead of recognizing their status as prisoners of war . 438 Ukrainians died in Russian captivity.
As Censor.NET reports , this was stated in an interview with Ukrinform by the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Russia, Mariana Katsarova.
Ukrainian prisoners are being tried as terrorists
According to Katsarova, the Russian authorities have declared the Azov battalion a terrorist organization. As a result, its fighters, despite their status as prisoners of war, are being tried on terrorism charges .
“This applies to the majority of Ukrainian prisoners in Russia, whose cases are being considered by courts, including military ones. Perhaps 90 percent of them are accused of crimes related to terrorism, rather than participation in hostilities,” the rapporteur noted.
She recalled that the Geneva Conventions protect prisoners of war under international humanitarian law. Military personnel can be held accountable for participating in hostilities as military personnel, but cannot be accused of terrorism solely for participating in war.
Katsarova also reported that 438 Ukrainians died in Russian captivity. According to her, torture of prisoners remains a systemic practice, and those responsible often go unpunished.
“The torture machine is operating at full capacity, and Ukrainian prisoners are treated especially cruelly due to the high level of impunity. Sometimes, torturing Ukrainian prisoners can even be grounds for promotion,” she said.
Torture of Ukrainians and punishment without investigation
The UN rapporteur spoke about cases of torture of Ukrainian civilian prisoners. In particular, she cited the story of Natalia Vlasova.
According to Katsarova, the woman was raped and tortured by representatives of the armed formations of the so-called “DPR”. She was subjected to electric shocks and her teeth were filed with a metal file.
Vlasova spoke about these crimes during a court hearing at a military court in Rostov. However, instead of ordering an investigation, the court sentenced her to 18 years and two months in prison. The woman is currently in a Russian colony.
“I have a list of two dozen women, but in reality there are many more,” Katsarova noted.
Among the mechanisms for holding perpetrators accountable, she named the International Criminal Court and the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows states to initiate proceedings against specific perpetrators of international crimes.
This, according to the speaker, requires funding, political will and appropriate resources. She also emphasized the importance of documenting crimes for future trials.
Katsarova considers the creation of a UN mandate to monitor and prepare reports on the human rights situation in Russia to be an important result of her work.
- It was previously reported that Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Andriy Melnyk, called on all states that are parties to the Rome Statute to execute the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants for six Russian officials, including Putin. Джерело: https://censor.net/ua/n4031893
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