Civilians being ‘brutally’ tortured by the Russian military and rhetoric in the Kremlin-controlled media that could constitute ‘incitement to genocide’ are conclusions of the Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, an independent body of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
The words were from Norwegian Erik Mose, Chairman of the Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, as he presented an update on the investigations his team conducted in August and September: “The Commission has gathered further evidence that the use of torture by the Russian armed forces attacks in the areas under their control were widespread and systematic. The main targets of torture were people accused of being informants for the Ukrainian armed forces,” he said of what they found in the Kherson and Zaporizhia regions.
“In some cases, the torture was carried out with such brutality that it caused the death of the victim. The Commission continues to map and document these facilities, reinforcing its conclusion that torture was widely used by Russian authorities,” he continued. “In addition, the Commission found that Russian soldiers in the Kherson region raped and committed sexual violence against women between the ages of 19 and 83, often accompanied by threats or other acts of rape. Often, family members were kept in an adjacent room, thus being forced to listen to the violations that occurred.”
The torture mainly targeted those suspected of collaborating with Ukrainian forces.
Still referring to the Kherson region, the Geneva committee said it is also investigating the causes of the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant, which occurred in June. Moscow and Kiev blame each other for the dam’s destruction, which caused an environmental disaster, killed dozens of people and forced the evacuation of thousands of residents.
On another front, Erik Mose, who had presented the first report in March, expressed concern “over allegations of genocide in Ukraine.” Case in point: “Some of the rhetoric broadcast by the Russian state and other media could constitute an incitement to genocide,” he said, after assuring that the team was “continuing its investigation into these issues.”
In the March report, the team found that Russian authorities had committed “a wide range of war crimes” and vowed to investigate allegations of genocide, including the forcible transfer of Ukrainian children to areas under Russian control.
In his update to the Human Rights Council, Mose regretted the “lack of clarity and transparency on the full scope, circumstances and categories of children transferred” and said the team was continuing its investigation. “Whether this also raises questions about genocide will become clear in the course of our investigation,” he told reporters.
Conversely, the Norwegian judge urged Kiev to “promptly and thoroughly investigate the few cases of violations committed by its own armed forces.” The cases of abuse discovered on the Ukrainian side largely involved the use of explosive weapons targeting the civilian population and the mistreatment of detained Russian soldiers, according to investigators. Mose emphasized that there is no comparison to the variety and number of violations committed by the Russian side.
Source: DN
