Many people, including the Human Rights Watch, an organization that investigates and reports on abuses happening around the world, believe Russia has beaten and tortured civilians in the areas of southern Ukraine that they control. Some think that these actions are “part of a series of abuses that may amount to war crimes,” an article in the New York Times says.
Atrocities committed by some Russian forces have outraged parts of the world and have been the subject of war crimes trials by Ukrainian prosecutors. Some war crimes made by Russian forces that were documented are inhumane treatment, torture, arbitrary detention, and unlawful confinement.
These forces from Russia have expanded their reach of land in Ukraine and turned them into places of fear and wild lawlessness.
“Moscow has in the past denied that its troops have committed abuses and has also said that its missiles target military, rather than civilian, areas,” according to an article in the New York Times.
Some people who lived in those areas where Russia took over were interviewed, and they described being tortured or witnessing torture through continuous beatings and sometimes electric shocks. Injuries were severe, including broken bones, broken teeth, cuts and burns, and concussions.
Vladislav Buryak, a 16-year old Ukrainian boy, was held hostage by Russian soldiers in a prison camp. He was forced to wash the floor of the room they used for interrogations, and after the interrogations, he frequently saw fresh bloodstains on the floor.
“I saw people afterwards as well, and their faces were bruised,” he said. “I was really scared that they would beat me up as well, so I tried to keep myself emotionless.”
The Geneva Conventions allow opposing sides in an international conflict to hold soldiers/fighters prisoner if they pose a serious threat to society, but they strongly prohibit torturing and abusing them.
It seems that Russia has broken an important rule by abusing Ukraine’s civilians who are not posing a threat.
Source(s): https://nytimes.com/2022/07/24/world/europe/russia-torture-ukraine-human-rights-watch.html
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/19/ukrainian-boy-held-hostage-by-russia-tells-of-cleaning-up-torture-rooms
Atrocities committed by some Russian forces have outraged parts of the world and have been the subject of war crimes trials by Ukrainian prosecutors. Some war crimes made by Russian forces that were documented are inhumane treatment, torture, arbitrary detention, and unlawful confinement.
These forces from Russia have expanded their reach of land in Ukraine and turned them into places of fear and wild lawlessness.
“Moscow has in the past denied that its troops have committed abuses and has also said that its missiles target military, rather than civilian, areas,” according to an article in the New York Times.
Some people who lived in those areas where Russia took over were interviewed, and they described being tortured or witnessing torture through continuous beatings and sometimes electric shocks. Injuries were severe, including broken bones, broken teeth, cuts and burns, and concussions.
Vladislav Buryak, a 16-year old Ukrainian boy, was held hostage by Russian soldiers in a prison camp. He was forced to wash the floor of the room they used for interrogations, and after the interrogations, he frequently saw fresh bloodstains on the floor.
“I saw people afterwards as well, and their faces were bruised,” he said. “I was really scared that they would beat me up as well, so I tried to keep myself emotionless.”
The Geneva Conventions allow opposing sides in an international conflict to hold soldiers/fighters prisoner if they pose a serious threat to society, but they strongly prohibit torturing and abusing them.
It seems that Russia has broken an important rule by abusing Ukraine’s civilians who are not posing a threat.
Source(s): https://nytimes.com/2022/07/24/world/europe/russia-torture-ukraine-human-rights-watch.html
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/19/ukrainian-boy-held-hostage-by-russia-tells-of-cleaning-up-torture-rooms
