Russian soldiers are torturing Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war with electric shocks, mock executions and other acts of “cruelty” that could represent a “pattern of State-endorsed torture,” a United Nations expert said Thursday.
In some cases, the alleged war crimes are being perpetrated to extract information or confessions from detainees, Alice Jill Edwards, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Torture, wrote in a letter to the Russian Federation.
In others, they are used simply to punish those who were in or supported Ukrainian armed forces, Edwards alleged.
“The alleged practices include electric shocks, beatings, hooding, mock executions and other threats of death,” said Edwards, who cited “reports and testimony.”
Edwards said that the alleged torture could add up to more than just isolated incidents.
“If established, they would constitute individual violations and may also amount to a pattern of State-endorsed torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,” Edwards said.
Accounts suggest “a level of coordination, planning and organization, as well as the direct authorization, deliberate policy or official tolerance from superior authorities,” Edwards added.
The alleged acts have left Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war with physical injuries including organ damage, broken bones and severe weight loss—as well as mental and emotional scarring, said Edwards.
Should the allegations and suspicion of higher coordination be substantiated, perpetrators will not be able to hide behind the military chain of command.
“Torture is a war crime, and the systematic or widespread practice of torture constitutes a crime against humanity,” Edwards said. “Obeying a superior order or policy direction cannot be invoked as justification for torture, and any individual involved should be promptly investigated and prosecuted by independent authorities.”
Edwards, who plans to visit Ukraine later this year on a fact-finding mission, added that the alleged torture could only serve to lengthen the war, now in its second year.
“The longer the war goes on, the more reports are emerging of torture and other inhuman treatment,” Edwards said. “Such cruelty inflames hostility and damages future hopes of peace and reconciliation between neighbors.”
