UN: Ukraine torturing people accused of co-operating with Russia
People accused by the Kyiv authorities of co-operating with Russia are subjected to torture and arbitrary detention, TASS reports with reference to a report published in Geneva by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
In particular, these are residents of the areas from which the Russian forces involved in the special military operation were withdrawn.
“The OHCHR documented cases of torture and ill-treatment, arbitrary detention, and violations of fair trial rights in 12 criminal cases by the Ukrainian authorities against individuals accused of ‘collaborationist activities’. At least nine people were held incommunicado before their detention was formalised, and these cases could amount to arbitrary detention,” the report says.
The OHCHR also states that ‘at least five individuals were subjected to torture or ill-treatment in order to obtain a confession in co-operation with the Russian Armed Forces or occupation authorities’.
Referring to data from the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine, the report states that as of December 31st, 2023, 6,762 criminal cases were opened for ‘collaborationist activities’. The courts of Ukraine handed down sentences in 1,010 of them, including 216 cases for actions committed in the Kharkov Region, 92 in the Kherson Region, and 35 in the Nikolaev Region.
“Almost all accusations of co-operation led to convictions. Since May 2022, Ukrainian courts have issued convictions in all but three cases under Article 111-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine for co-operation [with Russia]. People were prosecuted for working in emergency services, schools, water supply services, humanitarian aid, and garbage collection. In most of these cases, individuals were sanctioned with a ban on holding public office for up to 10 years,” the report adds.
The OHCHR concludes that a number of sentences are ‘clearly disproportionate to the gravity’ of the act. For example, in September 2023, ‘a court in the Nikolaev Region sentenced a woman to six years' imprisonment with confiscation of property for distributing social payments and pensions to the elderly’.
The OHCHR recommends that legislation punishing Ukrainian citizens for co-operation with Russia be brought ‘in line with international law’ in order to ‘avoid overly broad interpretation of the law’. It also recommends that Ukraine ‘maintain guarantees of due process and fair trial for all persons charged in criminal cases related to the conflict’.
