The UN commission found new evidence of mass torture of Ukrainians by the Russians

The UN’s independent international commission to investigate violations in Ukraine has discovered new evidence that indicates widespread patterns of torture by the Russian authorities against Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war in the occupied Ukrainian territories and in the Russian Federation. This is stated in the Commission’s new report, he writes UNN.

Details

As the Commission said in its latest update to the Human Rights Council on Monday, the wide geographic reach and widespread patterns of torture demonstrate that torture was carried out as a routine and acceptable practice with impunity.

The Commission’s further investigation of torture cases shows that the Russian authorities used them in those regions of Ukraine that they took under their control. The new evidence confirms the Commission’s earlier finding that torture by the Russian authorities was widespread,

It is noted that the Commission found additional common elements in the use of torture by the Russian authorities, confirming previous conclusions about the systematic nature of these actions. One of these elements is the repeated practice of violent methods in prisons in the Russian Federation, where prisoners from Ukraine are kept. It is noted that this practice is observed in several large penitentiary institutions in the occupied territories of Ukraine.

The UN emphasized that the common element emerging from the evidence indicates the coordinated involvement of employees of specific services of the Russian Federation in torture in all places of deprivation of liberty investigated by the Commission.

Another common feature is the systematic use of sexual violence, mainly against men, as one of the methods of torture, which is observed in almost all of these places of detention. In addition, the Commission takes note of the testimony of former prisoners about employees of penitentiary institutions in the Russian Federation, which indicate orders for ill-treatment,

Evidence also shows that in some detention facilities, ill-treatment was ordered by high-ranking Russian officials who either condoned or failed to take action to end the ill-treatment.

The victim (a civilian), who was tortured for ten days in a row, told the Commission: “The worst thing is that the criminals did everything silently and professionally. That’s how I understood that they tortured many people, and they didn’t even consider us human beings.”

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The Commission also continues to document attacks using explosive weapons on civilian targets in populated areas, resulting in devastating consequences. She investigated strikes that damaged medical facilities, cultural facilities, residential buildings and supermarkets in the territories controlled by Ukraine.

Continuing the investigation of large-scale attacks by the Russian Federation on the energy infrastructure of Ukraine, some of which caused interruptions in the supply of electricity and affected millions of citizens, the Commission discovered new evidence of the impact of these attacks on the health and well-being of the population. Power outages have particularly affected vulnerable groups of the population. Power outages have also disrupted online education, which has had a particularly strong impact on displaced children and children with disabilities, who are more likely to rely on distance learning.

The commission reiterated the importance of continuing investigations, identifying and prosecuting those responsible, and providing comprehensive support to victims. It calls on all parties to cooperate and coordinate efforts on these important issues,

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