Russia tortured some Ukrainian victims to death, UN inquiry says

[September 25, 2023]  GENEVA (Reuters) - Russia's torture methods in parts of Ukraine it occupied have been so brutal that it tortured some of its victims to death, the head of a U.N.-mandated investigative body said on Monday.

Erik Møse, Chair of the Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, told the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva his team had "collected further evidence indicating that the use of torture by Russian armed forces in areas under their control has been widespread and systematic". 

Jasminka Dzumhur, Erik Mose and Pablo de Greiff, members of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, attend a news conference at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, September 23, 2022. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

"In some cases, torture was inflicted with such brutality that it caused the death of the victim," he said.

Møse's commission visited parts of Ukraine formerly held by Russian forces such as in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. It found that torture was committed mainly in detention centres operated by the Russian authorities.

The commission has previously said that violations committed by Russian forces in Ukraine, including the use of torture, may constitute crimes against humanity.

Russia denies committing atrocities or targeting civilians in Ukraine. Russia was given an opportunity to respond to the allegations at the council hearing but no Russian representative attended.

(Reporting by Emma Farge; Editing by Peter Graff)

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