Russia prevents access to Ukrainian prisoners of war - UN
Head of UN human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine Matilda Bogner said on Friday that Russia does not provide access to Ukrainian prisoners of war and that UN has evidence that they have been tortured and violently treated.
It was reported by Censor.NЕТ referring to "European Truth".
"The Russian Federation has not provided access to prisoners of war held on its territory or in territory under its occupation," Bogner said at a briefing on Friday.
This is even more worrying because we have documented that prisoners of war who are ... held by Russian Federation armed forces or affiliated armed groups have been subjected to torture and inhuman treatment," she added.
The head of the UN mission in Ukraine added that some of these episodes - issues of torture and violent treatment of POWs - could be interpreted as war crimes.
According to Bogner, Ukrainian prisoners of war go through a so-called "reception process," where they are forced to walk or run between rows of Russian guards, who take turns severely beating them. The UN also received information about Ukrainian prisoners with infectious diseases, in particular hepatitis A and tuberculosis, in the colony in Olenivka.
At the same briefing, the head of the UN Human Rights Mission in Ukraine also called on Russia to release four pregnant prisoners of war held in the Russian-controlled territories of Ukraine for humanitarian reasons.
For his part, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that he could not comment on the UN statement because Russian authorities "do not know who approached the military and addressed" the issue.
