In a shocking revelation, a United Nations report released on Tuesday exposes Russia’s alleged summary execution of 77 civilians who were held in arbitrary detention during the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has been meticulously documenting the human rights situation since Russia initiated its invasion in February last year, and the findings are both alarming and distressing.
Matilda Bogner, the head of the mission, revealed during a press briefing in Geneva that their investigation had uncovered 864 individual cases of arbitrary detention by Russia, with many of them classified as enforced disappearances. However, the most harrowing discovery was the summary execution of 77 civilians who were under the custody of the Russian Federation.
Among the victims, there were 72 men and five women. Shockingly, two male detainees lost their lives due to the severe consequences of torture, inhumane detention conditions, and the denial of vital medical care. The report points to the involvement of Russian armed forces, law enforcement agencies, and penitentiary authorities in widespread torture and ill-treatment of civilian detainees.
Bogner stated, “Most of those we interviewed said they had been tortured and ill-treated, and in some cases subjected to sexual violence, including rape.” The primary purpose of such heinous acts of torture was to extract confessions from the victims, force cooperation with the occupying authorities, or intimidate those holding pro-Ukrainian views.
The extensive report, compiled from 1,136 interviews with victims, witnesses, and others, coupled with 274 site visits and 70 visits to official detention centers run by Ukrainian authorities, documented over 900 cases of arbitrary detention of civilians, including vulnerable groups such as children and the elderly.
Bogner emphasized, “The vast majority of these cases were perpetrated by the Russian Federation.” Despite repeated requests, Russia did not grant the monitoring mission unimpeded access to official places of detention and detainees. On the other hand, Ukraine provided unrestricted confidential access to these facilities and detainees, with only one exception.
While the report acknowledged 75 cases of arbitrary detention by Ukrainian security forces, primarily targeting individuals suspected of conflict-related offenses, it also highlighted that a significant proportion of these cases amounted to enforced disappearances, primarily carried out by the Security Service of Ukraine.
Bogner commented, “We documented that over half of those arbitrarily detained were subjected to torture or ill-treatment by Ukrainian security forces. This happened while people were being interrogated, usually immediately after arrest.” However, it is important to note that the mission did not find any evidence of summary executions of civilian detainees by Ukrainian forces.
The release of this UN report sheds light on the severe human rights violations occurring within the context of the Ukraine conflict. The international community is now faced with the urgent task of addressing these grave violations and holding the responsible parties accountable for their actions.
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