Commission on Ukraine documents new cases of Russian authorities' torture against civilians, PoWs

By Peter Kenny

GENEVA (AA) – The UN-established Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine said on Monday that it has documented new cases of torture committed by Russian authorities against civilians and prisoners of war (PoWs) in occupied areas of Ukraine and also in Russia, with the majority of victims being men.

Erik Mose, chair of the Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, told the UN Human Rights Council, "We gathered evidence of sexual violence used as torture, mainly against male victims in detention, and of rapes targeting women in villages under Russian control."

The UN Human Rights Council extended the commission's mandate for one year on April 4, 2023, and for an additional year on April 4 of this year.

"The third year of the armed conflict in Ukraine continues to see a high number of civilian casualties, in particular in Ukrainian government-controlled territories, including far from frontlines," said Mose.

He said Russia continues to refuse to communicate with the commission, which reported that the death toll in Ukraine has risen above 11,743 civilians and 24,614 injured.

"We have continued documenting attacks with explosive weapons affecting civilian objects in populated areas, with devastating consequences for the population," he said.

In territories under Ukrainian government control, the commission investigated attacks that struck medical institutions, cultural objects, residential buildings, and supermarkets, and it also attempted to investigate attacks in Russian-occupied areas, and within Russia.

A common element emerging from the evidence points to the coordinated use of personnel from specific services of the Russian Federation who are involved in torture in all the detention facilities investigated by the commission.

- 'Sexual violence as torture'

"A further common feature is the recurrent use of sexual violence as a form of torture in almost all these detention centers," Mose said.

"Moreover, the Commission notes testimonies of former detainees according to which penitentiary personnel in the Russian Federation referred to orders to inflict brutal treatment."

He said testimonies show that, in some detention facilities, higher-ranking Russian authorities ordered, tolerated, or took no action to stop such treatment.

"For instance, in a detention center in occupied territories of Ukraine, a witness described the arrival of a penitentiary official from the Russian Federation who introduced himself to the detainees, stating, 'I broke everyone and will do the same to you.'"

The vast area where torture was committed, as well as the patterns, show that it has been a common and acceptable practice by Russian authorities operating with impunity, he said.

"A disturbing factor reported in many detention facilities operated by Russian authorities is the lack of adequate medical assistance to those who desperately needed it. In one facility, even penitentiary doctors participated in the torture," he said.

Earlier in Geneva, Mariana Katzarova, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Russia, told journalists that human rights in Russia have deteriorated over the past year due to a "state-sponsored system of fear and punishment," in which, she said, "Nobody is safe."

Katzarova, citing the report she was presenting to the Human Rights Council on Russia, said, "The country is now run by a state-sponsored system of fear and punishment, including the use of torture with absolute impunity.

"Human rights defenders, journalists, and political figures are persecuted and incarcerated in greater numbers, anti-war dissent of any kind is criminalized, and police violence is condoned."