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==Before Euromaidan==
==Before Euromaidan==
In 2010, before the 2013–14 [[Euromaidan]] demonstrations and [[Revolution of Dignity]], Ukraine was de facto a Russian client state.{{Cn|date=November 2022|reason=This characterization seems too unambiguous or strong. It was heading that way, but headed off by Yanukovych’s flight}} [[Amnesty International]] at that time said that the practice of torture and ill-treatment in police detention was "fostered by a climate of impunity as police continue to rely on extracting confessions and fail to respect the [[presumption of innocence]]."<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2010-04-14 |title=Ukraine needs accountability for human rights violations |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/press-release/2010/04/ukraine-needs-accountability-human-rights-violations/ |access-date=2022-11-24 |publisher=Amnesty International |language=en}}</ref>{{sfn|Kuzio|2015|loc=Military and Security Policy|p=483}} The human rights organisation also reported a "pervasive culture of racist discrimination and of alleged torture or other ill-treatment by police officers".<ref name=":0" />
In 2010, before the 2013–14 [[Euromaidan]], [[Amnesty International]] said that the practice of torture and ill-treatment in police detention was "fostered by a climate of impunity as police continue to rely on extracting confessions and fail to respect the [[presumption of innocence]]."<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2010-04-14 |title=Ukraine needs accountability for human rights violations |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/press-release/2010/04/ukraine-needs-accountability-human-rights-violations/ |access-date=2022-11-24 |publisher=Amnesty International |language=en}}</ref>{{sfn|Kuzio|2015|loc=Military and Security Policy|p=483}} The human rights organisation also reported a "pervasive culture of racist discrimination and of alleged torture or other ill-treatment by police officers".<ref name=":0" />


In a book published in 2015, [[Taras Kuzio]] said that the Ukrainian [[Ministry of Internal Affairs (Ukraine)|Ministry of Internal Affairs]] possessed "the worst reputation of any of Ukraine's security forces because of human rights abuses and mistreatment", and claimed that little had changed since the Soviet model of policing.{{sfn|Kuzio|2015|loc=Military and Security Policy|p=481}} Police beat prisoners and there were cases of torture, some of which had resulted in the deaths of prisoners.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lewis |first=James R. |title=The Human Rights Encyclopedia |last2=Skutsch |first2=Carl |date=2001 |publisher=Sharpe Reference |isbn=0-7656-8023-8 |volume=2 |publication-place=Armonk, N.Y. |pages=548 |oclc=42428799}}</ref>
In a book published in 2015, [[Taras Kuzio]] said that the Ukrainian [[Ministry of Internal Affairs (Ukraine)|Ministry of Internal Affairs]] possessed "the worst reputation of any of Ukraine's security forces because of human rights abuses and mistreatment", and claimed that little had changed since the Soviet model of policing.{{sfn|Kuzio|2015|loc=Military and Security Policy|p=481}} Police beat prisoners and there were cases of torture, some of which had resulted in the deaths of prisoners.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lewis |first=James R. |title=The Human Rights Encyclopedia |last2=Skutsch |first2=Carl |date=2001 |publisher=Sharpe Reference |isbn=0-7656-8023-8 |volume=2 |publication-place=Armonk, N.Y. |pages=548 |oclc=42428799}}</ref>

Revision as of 20:27, 28 November 2022

Torture in Ukraine involves documented and alleged acts of torture which have been committed within the borders of Ukraine. Prior to the Revolution of Dignity (2014) and during the war in Donbas (2014-2022), torture was perpetrated by agents of the government, the army, law enforcement agencies, the Security Service of Ukraine and volunteer paramilitary units.[1][2][3][4] During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine numerous acts of torture of civilians and numerous acts of torture of prisoners of war by Russian forces have been documented,[5][6][7][8] including the rape of women and children by Russian forces.[9]

Overview

Ukraine signed the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture on 2 May 1996 and ratified it on 5 May 1997. The convention came into effect on 1 September 1997.[10]

Before Euromaidan

In 2010, before the 2013–14 Euromaidan, Amnesty International said that the practice of torture and ill-treatment in police detention was "fostered by a climate of impunity as police continue to rely on extracting confessions and fail to respect the presumption of innocence."[11][12] The human rights organisation also reported a "pervasive culture of racist discrimination and of alleged torture or other ill-treatment by police officers".[11]

In a book published in 2015, Taras Kuzio said that the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs possessed "the worst reputation of any of Ukraine's security forces because of human rights abuses and mistreatment", and claimed that little had changed since the Soviet model of policing.[13] Police beat prisoners and there were cases of torture, some of which had resulted in the deaths of prisoners.[14]

In April 2010, the Council of Europe reviewed around 6,000 complaints about torture, of which the Ukrainian law enforcement agencies only examined 200 cases, and all these decisions were biased in favor of torturers.[12] As a result, the Council of Europe condemned the lack of investigations related to police torture.[12]

Torture during the 2014 Russian invasion of Ukraine

In 2015, Amnesty International reported that during the War in Donbass, which followed the 2014 Russian invasion of Ukraine, there was extensive evidence of ongoing war crimes, including torture and summary killing of prisoners. Amnesty reported that "prisoners on both sides have been beaten and subjected to mock executions".[15]

In Eastern Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) operated special hidden prisons for alleged pro-Russian separatists where unacknowledged detention was accompanied by widespread torture and human rights abuses.[2][16][17] The existence of black sites was denounced by multiple reports of the UN monitoring mission in Ukraine,[18] Amnesty International[2] and Human Rights Watch.[19] In 2018 Amnesty International concluded that "The investigation into the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) for its alleged secret prisons failed to make any progress. Law enforcement officials continued to use torture and other ill-treatment".[20]

Torture by Russian forces during the 2022 invasion of Ukraine

Russian torture chambers

After the successful 2022 Ukrainian Kharkiv counteroffensive which liberated a number of settlements and villages in the Kharkiv region from Russian occupation,[21] authorities discovered torture chambers which had been used by Russian troops during their time in control of the area.[22][23]

Russian torture chambers have been found in all areas liberated from Russian occupation, including Kyiv, Kharkiv, Sumy, and Kherson.[citation needed] The existence of Russian torture facilities in still occupied Zaporizhzhia has also been reported by Ukrainians who have managed to flee these areas.

Notes

  1. ^ Kuzio 2015, p. 481.
  2. ^ a b c "Ukraine: "You don't exist": Arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, and torture in Eastern Ukraine". Amnesty International. July 21, 2016. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  3. ^ Gladun, Andrii; Val’ko, Svitlana; Movchan, Serhiy; Martynenko, Oleg; Smelyanska, Yanina (2017). Unlawful detentions and torture committed by Ukrainian side in the armed conflict in Eastern Ukraine (PDF). Kyiv: Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group, NGO "Truth Hounds". ISBN 978-966-97584-4-6.
  4. ^ "Ukraine / Russia: Prisoners of war". OHCHR. 15 November 2022. Retrieved 2022-11-25.
  5. ^ ""Torture chamber," mass grave found in Kherson, Ukraine after Russia's retreat". CBS News. Retrieved 2022-11-25.
  6. ^ "Ukraine: Russian Forces Tortured Izium Detainees". Human Rights Watch. 2022-10-19. Retrieved 2022-11-25.
  7. ^ "'Walls full of pain': Russia's torture cells in Ukraine". BBC News. 2022-09-20. Retrieved 2022-11-25.
  8. ^ "Ukraine: Executions, Torture During Russian Occupation". Human Rights Watch. 2022-05-18. Retrieved 2022-11-25.
  9. ^ Cumming-Bruce, Nick (23 September 2022). "U.N. Experts find that war crimes have been committed in Ukraine". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 24 September 2022.
  10. ^ "Chart of signatures and ratifications of Treaty 126". Council of Europe. Retrieved 2022-11-22.
  11. ^ a b "Ukraine needs accountability for human rights violations". Amnesty International. 2010-04-14. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  12. ^ a b c Kuzio 2015, p. 483, Military and Security Policy.
  13. ^ Kuzio 2015, p. 481, Military and Security Policy.
  14. ^ Lewis, James R.; Skutsch, Carl (2001). The Human Rights Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. Armonk, N.Y.: Sharpe Reference. p. 548. ISBN 0-7656-8023-8. OCLC 42428799.
  15. ^ "Breaking Bodies: Torture and Summary Killings in Eastern Ukraine". Amnesty International USA. May 21, 2015. Retrieved 2022-11-25.
  16. ^ "Watchdogs: Civilians Detained, Tortured in Eastern Ukraine". Voice of America. July 21, 2016. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  17. ^ "Kiev allows torture and runs secret jails, says UN". The Times. June 3, 2016. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  18. ^ "Report on the human rights situation in Ukraine". OHCHR. 15 August 2015. Retrieved 2022-11-24. a persistent pattern of arbitrary and incommunicado detention by the Ukrainian law enforcement (mainly by the Security Service of Ukraine) and by military and paramilitary units (first and foremost by the former volunteer battalions now formally incorporated into the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard and the police). These cases were often accompanied by torture and ill-treatment
  19. ^ "Dispatches: A Damning Silence From Kiev". Human Rights Watch. 2014-05-07. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  20. ^ "Amnesty International Report 2017/18 - Ukraine". Refworld. 22 February 2018. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  21. ^ Hendrix, Steve; Korolchuk, Serhii; Dixon, Robyn (11 September 2022). "Amid Ukraine's startling gains, liberated villages describe Russian troops dropping rifles and fleeing". The Washington Post.
  22. ^ "Ukrainian liberators find alleged Russian torture chambers in Kharkiv Oblast". The Telegraph (video).
  23. ^ Harding, Luke (17 September 2022). "Izium: after Russian retreat, horrors of Russian occupation are revealed". The Guardian.

Bibliography

  • Kuzio, Taras (2015). Ukraine: Democratization, Corruption, and the New Russian Imperialism. Praeger, ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-4408-3502-5.
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