Many prisoners of war captured by Russian and Ukrainian forces as part of the conflict in Ukraine are being subjected to torture and ill-treatment, including electric shocks, the UN warned Tuesday.
“The prohibition of torture and ill-treatment is absolute, even – in fact especially – in times of armed conflict,” said the head of the Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, Matilda Bogner, during a video conference from Kyiv.
He recalled that both countries are part of the Third Geneva Convention, which establishes requirements for the treatment of prisoners of war.
No access to water or toilets
In recent months, the mission interviewed 159 prisoners of war (139 men and 20 women) held by Russia and its affiliated armed groups and 175 prisoners of war (all men) held by Ukraine.
The mission was granted unhindered access to Ukrainian government-controlled POW internment sites, but the United Nations, despite its requests, has yet to gain confidential access to POWs interned by Russia and its affiliated armed groups. However, the United Nations was able to interview the released Ukrainian POWs.
As for the prisoners of war captured by Russian forces, “the vast majority of the people we interviewed told us that they had been tortured and ill-treated during their internment” on a daily basis, Matilda Bogner said.
After the capture, some of the prisoners were beaten. They are then transported to their place of detention, “often in overcrowded trucks or buses”, without always having access to water or toilets for more than a day.
“Their hands were tied and their eyes were taped so tightly that it left wounds on their wrists and faces,” added Matilda Bogner.
“Credible Allegations” of Executions of Russian POWs
Upon their arrival at certain places of internment, the prisoners of war are subjected to “admission procedures”, according to testimonies collected by the UN, during which they are beaten for a long time, threatened, attacked by dogs or neglected.
The UN has also received “credible allegations” of summary executions of Russian prisoners of war captured by Ukrainian forces and several cases of torture and ill-treatment.
“We have documented cases of torture and ill-treatment, mainly when people were captured, or while they were undergoing initial interrogations or transferred to transit camps and places of internment,” concluded Matilda Bogner.
Source: BFM TV
