Source: Amnesty International –
Russian authorities have subjected Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) and civilian captives to torture, prolonged incommunicado detention, enforced disappearance and other inhumane treatment, which amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, Amnesty International said in a new report today.
The report, A Deafening Silence: Ukrainians held incommunicado, forcibly disappeared and tortured in Russian captivity, documents how Ukrainian POWs and civilians held captive by Russia since February 2022 are being deliberately cut off from the outside world, often for years. A lack of transparency over their whereabouts has allowed for their torture and other ill-treatment in detention, and even unlawful killings of POWs, to continue with total impunity.
“Russia’s systemic incommunicado detention of Ukrainian POWs and civilians reflects a deliberate policy designed to dehumanize and silence them, leaving their families in agony as they wait for news about their loved ones,” said Amnesty International’s Secretary General, Agnès Callamard.
Russia’s systemic incommunicado detention of Ukrainian POWs and civilians reflects a deliberate policy designed to dehumanize and silence them, leaving their families in agony as they wait for news about their loved ones
Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General
“Torture takes place in complete isolation from the outside world, with the victims entirely at the mercy of their captors for survival. This is not a series of isolated incidents – it is a systematic policy that violates every tenet of international law.”
Amnesty International’s report is based on interviews with 104 people in Ukraine between January and November 2024. These include five former Ukrainian POWs, family members of 38 POWs, family members of 23 Ukrainians “missing in special circumstances”, 28 formerly detained civilians and their families, and 10 Russian POWs currently detained in Ukraine.