by Anthony Deutsch
AMSTERDAM, Aug 2 (Reuters) – Scores of prisoners held in makeshift detention centers in Russian-occupied southern Ukraine have been tortured and subjected to sexual violence, a team of international experts said on Wednesday. in a report.
The team of legal advisers from Global Rights Compliance, a firm specializing in humanitarian law, has worked with Ukrainian war crimes prosecutors in the Kherson region since it was taken over by Ukrainian forces, more than eight months after coming under Russian control.
Ukrainian authorities are reviewing more than 97,000 war crimes reports and have filed charges against 220 suspects.
The Kremlin has always denied allegations of war crimes committed in Ukraine.
The latest report from the Global Rights Compliance team, funded by Britain, the European Union and the United States, analyzed 320 cases and witness accounts at 35 sites in the Kherson region.
Of these, “43% explicitly mentioned torture practices in detention centers, citing sexual violence as a common tactic imposed by Russian guards,” a statement said.
The Russian Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter.
In June, the Ukrainian prosecutor’s office initiated proceedings related to the alleged deportation of dozens of orphans from Kherson, charging a Russian politician and two alleged Ukrainian collaborators with war crimes.
Reuters reported in January on the scale of torture in Kherson. The Ukrainian authorities then declared that around 200 people had been illegally detained.
“The true extent of war crimes committed by Russia remains unknown,” said Anna Mykytenko, senior legal counsel at Global Rights Compliance. “What we can say with certainty is that the psychological consequences of these crimes on the Ukrainian people will be etched in our minds for years to come.”
At least 36 victims heard by prosecutors mentioned the use of electrocution during interrogations as well as threats of genital mutilation. A victim was forced to witness the rape of another inmate, according to the report.
Among the detainees most likely to suffer torture, the report mentions the military, the police, local officials, medical personnel and even teachers. The most commonly used torture techniques are suffocation, waterboarding, beatings and threats of rape.
Reuters was unable to verify these claims. (French version Laetitia Volga, edited by Blandine Hénault)
©2023 Thomson Reuters, all rights reserved. Reuters content is the intellectual property of Thomson Reuters or its third party content providers. Any copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters. Thomson Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. “Reuters” and the Reuters Logo are trademarks of Thomson Reuters and its affiliated companies.