A United Nations expert on Thursday expressed concern about multiple testimonies that show Russian forces in Ukraine are “systematically and deliberately” torturing civilians and prisoners of war, with state sanction.
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Alice Gail Edwards, the UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, wrote in a letter to Russian authorities that “reported practices include electric shocks, beatings, masks, mock executions and other death threats.”
This could mean that “the state approves of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,” the expert writes in the letter signed with other independent experts.
These experts are mandated by the United Nations Human Rights Council, but they do not speak for the organization.
“Torture is a war crime and the systematic or widespread practice of torture constitutes a crime against humanity,” recalls Ms. Edwards, who intends to travel to Ukraine again this year to conduct her own investigation.
The methods used make one believe that it has something to do with “a level of coordination, planning, and organization, as well as direct authorization, deliberate policy or formal indulgence of higher powers,” he asserts, specifying that obedience to orders from a superior cannot be invoked to justify torture.
According to her, the available information indicates that as a result of this torture and ill-treatment, as well as poor conditions of detention, many Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war are subjected to physical and psychological trauma.
“The longer the war goes on, the more cases of torture and other inhumane treatment will be reported,” Ms. Edwards noted. I urge the relevant authorities to ensure that civilians and prisoners of war are protected and treated humanely at all times.
