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 has warned.
“The prohibition of torture and ill-treatment is absolute, even -in addition, especially- in periods of armed conflict,” stressed the head of the Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, Matilda Bogner, during a videoconference held on Tuesday. in kyiv.
As he recalled, the two countries are signatories of the Geneva Convention, which establishes requirements regarding the treatment of prisoners of war.
In recent months, the UN 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 given unimpeded access to Ukrainian government-controlled POW detention sites, but was unable to gain access to POWs held in Russia or in locations controlled by its groups despite several requests. armed.
Still, the UN was able to interview the already released Ukrainian POWs, gathering information about how they were treated.
“The vast majority of prisoners of war captured by Russian forces interviewed [pela missão da ONU] said she was tortured and mistreated on a daily basis during her imprisonment,” denounced Matilda Bogner.
After their capture, some of the prisoners were reportedly beaten and then transported to the place of detention, “often in overcrowded trucks or buses”, and not always with access to water or toilets.
“Her hands were tied and her eyes were blindfolded so tightly that they left injuries to her wrists and face,” the head of the United Nations mission said.
Upon arrival at certain places of detention, the prisoners of war were subjected to “admission procedures” that consisted of being beaten, threatened, beaten by dogs and abandoned, according to testimonies collected by the UN.
The UN mission 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 document cases of torture and ill-treatment, particularly when people were captured or during initial interrogation or when they were transferred to transit camps and places of detention,” Bogner explained.
Source: TSF
