The use of physical and psychological torture by the Russian military to try to extract information or coerce confessions from detainees in Ukraine is “systematic and deliberate,” the UN special rapporteur on torture denounced this Thursday in Geneva.
In a message to the Russian Federation, Alice Jill Edwards reported on testimony and reports on the ground, which show that forms of torture are also used against people believed to have been members or sympathizers of the Ukrainian armed forces.
These practices “include electric shocks, beatings, hooding, mock executions, and other death threats,” he explained.
“If confirmed, they would constitute individual violations and could also point to a pattern of torture or other state-sanctioned cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,” it said in a statement.
According to the UN expert, the level of coordination, planning and organization of these alleged tortures suggests that they were carried out with “direct authorization, deliberate political or through the official tolerance of higher authorities”.
Edwards recalled that the systematic practice of torture constitutes a crime against humanity and stressed that “obedience to superior orders or political guidelines cannot be invoked as a justification for these acts.”
The report on which Edwards is based indicates that torture is causing “physical and psychological trauma” to victims of this type of violence, who have reported everything from hallucinations to damage to internal organs, fractures, extreme weight loss and strokes.
In addition, those tortured did not have access to adequate medical care while in detention.
The speaker urged the authorities to guarantee the protection of prisoners of war in Ukraine and ensure that they are always treated humanely.
Edwards plans to visit Ukraine before the end of 2023 to conduct research on the situation there.
The widespread use of torture has also been denounced in reports by the United Nations’ Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, which has noted that these and other abuses may amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity.
The military offensive launched on February 24, 2022 by Russia in Ukraine has so far caused the flight of more than 14.7 million people -6.5 million internally displaced persons and more than 8.2 million to European countries- from according to the latest data from the UN, which classifies this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since the Second World War (1939-1945).
At least 18 million Ukrainians need humanitarian aid and 9.3 million need food aid and housing.
The Russian invasion – justified by Russian President Vladimir Putin as the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security – was condemned by the wider international community, which has responded by sending arms to Ukraine and imposing them on Russia in political and economic sanctions.
The UN presented as confirmed since the beginning of the war 8,983 dead civilians and 15,442 wounded, stressing that these figures are far below the real ones.
Source: TSF
