Office of Prosecutor General has submitted documents to International Criminal Court regarding Russia’s deportation of 1,800 prisoners from penal colonies in southern Ukraine
The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, in collaboration with non-governmental organizations, has submitted information to the International Criminal Court regarding the deportation of approximately 1,800 prisoners from the Kherson and Mykolaiv regions to the Russian Federation, characterizing these actions as war crimes and crimes against humanity.
According to Censor.NET citing a link to Ukrinform, this was stated by Oleksandr Ziuz, head of the Division for Interaction with Intergovernmental, State, and Non-Governmental Organizations of the Department for Countering Crimes Committed in Conditions of Armed Conflict at the OGP, during a presentation at Ukrinform of the advocacy report "Deportation to Hell."
"In cooperation with the non-governmental sector… a report was submitted to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court regarding the deportation and forced displacement of approximately 1,800 prisoners from correctional facilities in the Kherson and Mykolaiv regions," said Ziuz.
How did Russia deport the prisoners?
He reported that the investigation into these events revealed that in November 2022, shortly before Russian troops withdrew from the territory of the Mykolaiv and parts of the Kherson regions, Ukrainian prisoners were transferred to Crimea, and subsequently deported to the territory of the Russian Federation, where these prisoners were transferred to correctional facilities in various regions
"Like all Ukrainian civilian hostages and prisoners of war, they were held in appalling conditions and subjected to torture, cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment… Since these crimes exhibit characteristics of large-scale and systematic nature, they were classified separately under Ukrainian law as war crimes and as crimes against humanity. And they received this classification in a report submitted to the International Criminal Court," the official noted.
A list of individuals who may be involved has been identified
According to him, this press release also identifies the individuals who may be responsible for committing these crimes against Ukrainian citizens, specifically those who organized the process of unlawful transfer and deportation and were responsible for the conditions under which Ukrainian prisoners were held.
"We hope that in the future, such consolidated reports will serve as the basis for the Office of the Prosecutor General to receive requests from the International Criminal Court for additional evidence, since all such evidence is contained in Ukrainian criminal proceedings, and will also serve as the basis for holding the senior leadership of the Russian Federation—namely, the Ministry of Justice and the Federal Penitentiary Service—accountable for these crimes," Ziuz concluded.
