GENEVA: A UN specialist expressed concern Thursday over suspected widespread torture by Russian military personnel in Ukraine, saying it indicated “state-endorsed” wrongdoing.
Alice Jill Edwards, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, stated that the claimed victims comprised both Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war, and that she had written to Moscow about this.
She referenced evidence and testimonials claiming that torture was routinely employed to extract intelligence, coerce confessions, or punish former members or supporters of Ukrainian military forces.
“The alleged practices include electric shocks, beatings, hooding, mock executions, and other threats of death,” she stated in a statement.
“If established, they… may also amount to a pattern of state-endorsed torture.”
According to the statement, those reportedly abused were frequently held in “grossly inadequate conditions” in institutions run by Russian soldiers inside Ukraine after Moscow invaded in February last year.
It described how the claimed torture had caused patients to suffer from hallucinations, organ damage, fractures and breaks in bones, and strokes.
Edwards stated that she and other UN rights experts had expressed their concerns to Moscow in a letter.
According to the letter, the consistency and techniques of alleged torture indicate “a level of coordination, planning, and organization, as well as direct authorization, deliberate policy, or official tolerance from superior authorities.”
Edwards and other special rapporteurs are independent human rights experts designated by the United Nations Human Rights Council but do not comment on its behalf.
“Torture is a war crime, and the systematic or widespread practice of torture constitutes a crime against humanity,” Edwards cautioned.
“Obeying a superior order or policy direction cannot be invoked as justification for torture, and any individual involved should be promptly investigated and prosecuted by independent authorities.”
Edwards stated that she intends to visit Ukraine later this year to conduct fact-finding missions.
“The longer the war continues, the more reports of torture and other inhuman treatment emerge,” Edwards added.
“I strongly urge relevant authorities to take all necessary precautions to ensure that civilians and prisoners of war are protected and treated humanely at all times.”
Source: AFP
