Ukrainian human rights commissioner sends letters to UN after Russia sentences three teenagers from Melitopol for "terrorism"
The Russians have sentenced three teenagers from temporarily occupied Melitopol to 7-8 years' imprisonment. Ukraine's Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets has sent letters to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights.
Source: Dmytro Lubinets on Facebook
Details: The letters contain a call to provide a clear international legal assessment of Russia's actions.
Three teenagers from temporarily occupied Melitopol accused of "terrorism" received harsh sentences in fabricated cases. They were 16-17 years old at the time of their detention.
Lubinets noted that for more than two years the teenagers had been held in conditions that cannot be described as humane: they were beaten, tortured and psychologically broken.
"It breaks the heart that this is how our children are treated. They were tried as Russian citizens, in a closed trial, without the right to a fair defence. They were punished simply for being Ukrainian," Lubinets said.
He added that Russia does not stop at fabricating cases and sentences.
Quote: "We remember how, in temporarily occupied Berdiansk, Russian invaders brutally killed two 16-year-old boys – Tihran Ohannisian and Mykyta Khanhanov. They were accused of the invented 'preparation of sabotage on the railway'. Russian cruelty knows no bounds.
And this is only part of Russia's repression in the temporarily occupied territories. Thousands of children are abducted and deported to Russia. Their documents are changed. They are forced to adopt the Russian language and citizenship. They are militarised, made to wear uniforms, participate in trainings, and take part in propaganda events. They are turned into instruments of war."
Details: Lubinets said that those who don't give up their Ukrainian identity are punished, tortured, isolated and intimidated with beatings, threats and fear. These actions constitute a systematic policy, international crimes against children and gross violations of international law – from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child to the Geneva Conventions.
Quote: "I appeal to the entire international community: you must see these children not as statistics, but as human lives; you must do everything possible to ensure that every deported, forcibly displaced, or unlawfully sentenced child is returned to Ukraine.
We must protect their rights and hold the perpetrators accountable. The world cannot stand aside while Ukrainians are being destroyed before our eyes. We will not stop until every child returns home – alive and free."
Background: Earlier, it was reported that the three teenage boys had been given prison sentences by the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don, Russia.
Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!