Dr. Edwards questioned prisoners from both camps. If Russian soldiers have testified to inappropriate behavior on the part of their Ukrainian jailers, the actions of the Russians have a much more sordid dimension. The rapporteur thus evokes tobacco passages which last hours, blatant sexual violence, electric shocks, suffocations, sleep deprivation and simulacres of execution.
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Moving testimonies
The UN expert illustrates her point with examples. She quotes Oleksandr Kharlats, a Ukrainian veteran owned twice at the start of the war, who explains that she was electrocuted while being forced to keep her arms along the body to intensify the pain. Once on the ground, the Russians continued to beat him with a baton. Another prisoner, Anatoliy Tutov, adds that his hearings have given rise to sexual torture, including the threat of cutting her penis and raping him. After his release, he was diagnosed with bruises on the internal organs, two broken ribs and several other cracks. Finally, a civilian from an occupied region of Kherson was arrested for no reason when she went to work. She said she was raped and electrocuted from her first day of detention.
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The Russian ploy goes even further in perversity. Indeed, Dr. Edwards explains that before being released, some Ukrainian prisoners had been transferred to other establishments and detainees just long enough to allow their injuries to fade. The Russians also threatened the prisoners during the liberation that if they were talking about what they had undergone, other detainees would pay the price. Finally, forensic experts encounter important difficulties in determining the cause of the death of people who died in detention. Very often, internal organs are missing or the bodies are decaying.
In conclusion, the UN rapporteur insists on the importance of maintaining vigilance on the treatment of prisoners, in both camps. “To achieve a just and lasting peace in the war in Ukraine, it will take a cease-fire agreement which, in addition to the resolution of territorial issues and security guarantees, requires the rapid return of all remaining prisoners”she pleads.
