UN Independent Commission: Russia's torture of Ukrainians equated to crimes against humanity
Russian authorities continue to torture Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war in ways that are qualified as war crimes, members of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine said in their latest report to the UN General Assembly.
“Based on a body of evidence collected since its establishment, the Commission has now concluded that Russian authorities have committed torture against Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war as a crime against humanity,” Erik Møse, Chair of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, stated.
The Commission has previously established that the use of torture by Russian authorities constitutes a war crime. Additional cases of torture against Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war have confirmed its use in all Russia-controlled areas of Ukraine and pretrial detention facilities in the Russian Federation that were the subject of the Commission's investigation.
In its previous reports the Commission had established that the practice of torture by the Russian authorities was widespread. Common patterns also showed that it was systematic. These patterns concern the categories of persons targeted, the aim for which torture was used, and the methods employed.
The Commission has now identified additional common elements. They concern the replication of violent practices used in Russian Federation detention facilities to similar facilities in areas under Russian control in Ukraine.
Former detainees described consistently the same harsh practices designed to scare, break, humiliate, coerce, and punish.
The evidence further demonstrates that Russian authorities have deployed specific services and security forces from the Russian Federation to various detention facilities in occupied areas they controlled in Ukraine. Those services and forces acted in a coordinated manner, and according to a specific division of labour, in perpetrating torture.
Further, sexual violence as a form of torture, mostly against male detainees, has been recurrent in detention facilities operated by Russian authorities. One of them stated that he was subjected to electric shocks with taser on his genitals at least six times.
Victims and witnesses made multiple references to the involvement of high-ranking detention facility officials, as well as to orders received by lower ranking personnel. Many of these officials perpetrated torture openly, with an apparent sense of impunity.
Victims described the physical pain and trauma, with long-lasting or irreparable consequences, and emphasised the immense psychological challenges they face.
The Commission also found that in detention facilities held by Russian authorities, there has been a general absence or denial of medical assistance to detainees who were injured, ill, or required treatment after torture.
A Ukrainian soldier told the Commission that, after having suffered a serious injury from a blast, his requests for medical assistance were ignored. Due to delayed medical treatment, part of his foot had to be amputated.
The report emphasizes that continuous, massive waves of attacks carried out by the Russian Federation against Ukraine’s energy-related infrastructure have resulted in blackouts, at times affecting millions of civilians. The power cuts have, among other consequences, curtailed the enjoyment of the rights to health and education, with severe effects on children, older persons, persons living with disability or a medical condition. They described feelings of distress, anxiety, and isolation.
The Commission has pursued its investigations of explosive weapons attacks that struck civilians and civilian objects, including medical and cultural objects that benefit from the protection of international law, on all sides of the frontline.
“We reiterate the importance of judicial and non-judicial accountability. Identifying and prosecuting perpetrators of crimes is key to ending the culture of impunity and an integral part of victims’ sense of justice,” the Commission urged.