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Ukrainian Accounts of Torture Point to Systematic Russian Policy, Expert Says [1]

['Carlotta Gall', 'More About Carlotta Gall']

Date: 2023-09-10  

“Russian authorities have failed so far to send a directive to their soldiers and the military command informing them that torture and such types of detentions and interrogations are not acceptable,” she said. “They deny they do it, but show me the military directive where torture is prohibited.”

Moscow had failed to respond even to her recent offer to visit and report on the conditions of Russian prisoners of war held in Ukraine, she added. An Australian lawyer and academic, Ms. Edwards said she had twice been obliged to postpone visits to Ukraine for security reasons, but the buildup of evidence had made a visit in person imperative.

Last week she made public details of four individuals who had told her they were tortured while detained under Russian occupation in the region of Izium in northeastern Ukraine last year. Ukraine has opened 103,000 general cases for prosecution related to the conflict, she said.

Of hundreds of Ukrainian prisoners of war held by Russia and released in exchanges, Ukrainian officials have said 90 percent suffered torture, including sexual violence, she said.

“The scale is neither random nor incidental,” she said.

Former prisoners of war held by Russia suffered a dangerous level of weight loss from starvation during their detention, she said. One former prisoner told her he had lost 40 kilograms — almost 90 pounds — during incarceration, and his hair had turned gray. Some described fellow prisoners dying in custody from beatings or poor conditions.

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[1] Url: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/10/world/europe/russian-ukraine-torture.html

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