Russian government detains and holds Ukrainian civilians without charges, investigations, trials, or access to lawyers – BBC investigation

Russian authorities are illegally deporting Ukrainian civilians to Russia and holding them in penal colonies and pre-trial detention centres without charges, investigations, trials, access to lawyers, or designated release dates.

Source: Institute for the Study of War (ISW); BBC

Details: BBC reported on 8 January that Russian authorities have detained thousands of Ukrainian civilians in penal colonies and pre-trial detention centres in Russia and occupied Ukraine for "opposing the ‘special military operation.’"

Russian authorities are reportedly holding Ukrainian civilians without official records of their detention, without opening criminal or administrative cases, and without ongoing investigations. The detainees therefore do not "formally" exist in the Russian penitentiary system and have no access to lawyers.

The BBC reported that some former Ukrainian civilian detainees have said that Russian authorities treated them "like subhumans" and tortured them. The Russian Ministry of Defense reportedly responded to a request about one of the detained civilians, stating that Russian authorities are holding the detainee in accordance with "the requirements of the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War."

The BBC noted that the Geneva Convention prohibits the taking of civilian hostages who are non-combatants.

The BBC also reported that there is currently no mechanism in international law for the release of civilians from captivity, and the Geneva Convention only allows for prisoners of war to be exchanged for other prisoners of war.

Meanwhile, the work of third parties, such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), that recently helped mediate a prisoner exchange that included the return of Ukrainian civilians, have proven vital for the return of the civilian detainees.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories said that there were 4,337 Ukrainians, including 763 civilians, in Russian captivity as of November 2023. However, the BBC noted that these numbers rely on Red Cross data, which does not always have access to places where Russian authorities hold Ukrainian civilians, including detention centres and penal colonies in occupied territories.

Ukrainian Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets said that around 25,000 Ukrainian civilians are considered missing and that Russian forces may have kidnapped a significant number of them.

The BBC quoted the Ukrainian "Find Ours" project as estimating that there may be about 7,500 Ukrainian civilians unlawfully detained in Russia and occupied Ukraine. Russian and Ukrainian human rights activists have identified more than 30 penal colonies and pre-trial detention centres in which Ukrainian civilians have reportedly been detained.

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