UN Special Rapporteur: Torture of Ukrainians is part of the state policy of the Russian Federation

11 September, 2023 Illustration for the news. POW exchange The torture and inhuman treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian hostages is so massive that it testifies to the organized part of the state policy of the Russian Federation towards Ukraine.

This was stated by Alice Jill Edwards, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment at a press conference in Kyiv, Ukrinform reports. According to her, 90% of Ukrainian prisoners of war were tortured in Russian captivity. Edwards said that the number of evidence of torture and other types of inhuman treatment by representatives of the Russian authorities against civilians and prisoners of war is constantly increasing.

"In my opinion, these terrible actions cannot be assessed as accidental, but rather as an organized part of public policy... for the purpose of intimidation, punishment or obtaining information and confessions. I build this analysis on the scale of the allegations, as well as the methods, the purposes of torture of various forms," Special Rapporteur said.

The Special Rapporteur noted that there was evidence of electric shock torture, beating, simulated executions and drowning, forcing to stay in certain poses for a long time, threats of rape or death, and various attempts to humiliate detainees. According to Edwards, the testimonies of residents of Mariupol, Kyiv, Kharkiv and Kherson regions were collected.

Civilian Ukrainians testified to being held in cramped basements. In addition, one of the servicemen's weight loss from 100 to 55 kilograms in nine months of captivity is documented. Several victims said that they collapsed from beatings and electric shocks, or had amnesia as a result of torture.

Also, according to the testimony of the Ukrainian military who returned from Russian captivity, their comrades died of beatings or due to poor conditions of detention. Exchanges between Ukraine and Russia do not occur regularly. Each such event requires considerable effort from the Ukrainian side.

Since the beginning of the large-scale Russian invasion, more than 2,500 Ukrainians have been released from captivity.

The Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets, says that nine out of ten released Ukrainians talk about torture in Russian captivity.