July 22 () –
The NGO Human Right Wacth (HRW) has denounced this Friday the torture, illegal detentions and forced disappearances to which Russian troops are subjecting civilians in the occupied areas of the Kherson and Zaporizhia regions.
“Russian forces have turned the occupied areas of southern Ukraine into an abyss of fear and savage anarchy (…) Torture, inhuman treatment, as well as arbitrary detention and illegal confinement of civilians, are among the apparent war crimes we have documented,” HRW Ukraine researcher Yulia Gorbunova said in a statement.
The organization has spoken to 71 residents of Kherson, Melitopol, Berdyansk, Skadovsk and 10 other cities and towns in the Kherson and Zaporizhia regions, who have described up to 42 cases in which Russian troops reportedly forcibly disappeared civilians, arbitrarily detained or even tortured.
Likewise, HRW has documented that three members of the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces had been prisoners of war and that two of them would have died.
“The purpose of the abuse seems to be to obtain information and instill fear so that people accept the occupation, since Russia seeks to assert sovereignty over the occupied territory in violation of international law,” the NGO said in the letter.
Those interviewed have claimed to have been tortured or to have witnessed torture through prolonged beatings and, in some cases, electric shocks. They have also described injuries including broken ribs as well as other bones and teeth, severe burns, concussions, broken blood vessels in the eye, cuts and bruises.
Specifically, one of the residents – who had organized a protest – has assured that the Russian forces would have beaten him with a baseball bat while he was detained. Another protester was detained for up to seven days and, when he came out, he “could barely walk.”
Residents have also claimed that they were blindfolded and handcuffed throughout their detention, and held with very little food and water and no medical assistance. In several cases, Russian forces have released detainees only after they signed a statement promising to “cooperate” with authorities or recorded a video urging others to cooperate.
“In all but one detention case, families were not told by Russian forces where their loved ones were detained, and the Russian military commander’s office failed to provide information to families seeking it,” the organization added.
“Ukrainians in the occupied areas are experiencing a hellish ordeal,” Gorbunova said. “Russian authorities must immediately investigate war crimes and other abuses committed by their forces in these areas, as well as international investigative bodies with a view to prosecuting,” she added.
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