OSCE: Russian detention of civilians in TOT of Ukraine can be equated to crimes against humanity
OSCE representatives believe that the widespread, systematic and arbitrary detention of civilians in Ukraine is likely to amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
This is stated in the report on the results of the OSCE Moscow Mechanism investigation into the illegal detention of civilian Ukrainians by Russia, which was presented on Thursday in Vienna, Censor.NET reports citing Ukrinform.
Detention of civilians by Russians in the TOT
"In the vast majority of cases, the detention of Ukrainian civilians by the Russian Federation is a clear case of arbitrary deprivation of liberty, which is a violation of international humanitarian law, international human rights law, as well as OSCE commitments," emphasized Veronika Bilkova, one of the authors of the report.
She emphasized that Russia's practice of detaining civilians during the 10 years of aggression against Ukraine was widespread and systematic. For various reasons, it is difficult to talk about specific figures, but we are talking about "thousands" of people.
"What we can say is that this practice is very likely also ... war crimes. And also because this practice is so massive, widespread and systematic, it is very likely to be equated with crimes against humanity," Bilkova said.
According to her, the detention of civilians was "a kind of defining feature of the Russian Federation: wherever the Russian army advanced in a particular region, they immediately began to deprive Ukrainian civilians of their liberty." At the same time, in the vast majority of cases, this was unjustified, both during random detentions on the street and on the basis of compiled lists. The OSCE experts also stated that the occupying state did not inform the relatives of the detainees, Ukrainian authorities or international organizations, or provide the detainees with any guarantees of a fair trial.
Russians massively use torture and sexual violence against illegally detained persons
Another author of the report, Elina Steinerte, pointed to the ill-treatment of illegally detained civilians, their torture and extrajudicial executions.
"We have found that the Russian Federation has been using practices such as extrajudicial executions, torture, other inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, sexual violence and denial of basic fundamental rights to a fair trial against detained Ukrainian civilians on a large scale," she said.
Steinert emphasized that the torture and sexual violence against civilians illegally detained by Russia was widespread, "and therefore the seriousness of the related violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law leads to the conclusion that war crimes may have been committed."
Ukrainians detained by Russia have no legal recourse for release
According to the third author of the report, Cecilia Hellesthwaite, Ukrainians arbitrarily detained by Russia have no legal recourse for release, and therefore "they may be pressured to make illegal agreements with the state that holds them" in order to be released. In some cases, ransom was mentioned as a condition for release, which "amounts to hostage-taking."
The OSCE experts also documented the coercion of detained Ukrainians to self-inculpation and "confess" to crimes. In some cases, people were then released, but after that they were forced to leave their area of residence, "which may amount to de facto deportation."
The mission established under the OSCE Moscow Mechanism called on Russia to immediately and unconditionally release all illegally detained Ukrainian civilians.
In February 2024, at the initiative of Ukraine, OSCE participating states officially activated the Moscow Mechanism for Ukrainian civilian hostages held by Russia.
