UN: Widespread russian Torture in Ukraine is Deliberate

News and images of russian torture of Ukrainian servicemen and women as well as civilians have shocked the civilized world since moscow invaded Ukraine on February 22, 2022.

The first reports came a couple of weeks after russians cross the Ukrainian border, from Bucha and Irpin. Then came Azovstal. The coldblooded murder of a Ukrainian POW who declared “Glory to Ukraine.” And the beheading of Ukrainian soldiers. And then there’s psychological torture of knowing that your life as a Ukrainian isn’t worth spit in the minds of russian cutthroats and it could end in a second. You could be standing in a breadline, then you’re dead. You can be riding with your family in a car when the invaders riddled the vehicle with rifle fire killing all inhabitants – adults and children. You could be running with your mother to evade missiles when it hits the ground killing 11-year-old Liza. Or you could be captured with your siblings then raped and killed. You could be hiding beneath your home when the russians discovered you and threw grenades into the basement.

Yes, there is physical torture as well as psychological torture and russians are adept at inflicting both on purpose, systematically, deliberately and with authorization. Their cruelty against Ukrainians even exceeds the Nazis’ brutality.

The United Nations has finally declared it to be so. Furthermore, it said, there are no excuses or explanations for torture during wars, which are tantamount with war crimes. The perpetrators cannot point fingers at commanding officers, saying they made us do it.

The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Alice Jill Edwards yesterday expressed alarm at reports and testimonies which appear to indicate that russian military forces in Ukraine are consistently and intentionally inflicting severe physical and psychological pain and suffering on Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war. This torture is being carried out to extract intelligence or to force confessions from detained individuals, or because of their former membership or support of the Ukrainian armed forces, Edwards said in a rather rare, accusatory letter to russian officials.

“The alleged practices include electric shocks, beatings, hooding, mock executions and other threats of death,” Edwards wrote. “If established, they would constitute individual violations and may also amount to a pattern of State-endorsed torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”

According to the UN statement, the allegations relate to the detention of Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war held in grossly inadequate conditions in facilities run by russian military forces inside Ukraine. In the letter, sent jointly with other independent UN experts, Edwards said that the consistency and methods of the alleged torture suggests “a level of coordination, planning and organization, as well as the direct authorization, deliberate policy or official tolerance from superior authorities.”

“Torture is a war crime, and the systematic or widespread practice of torture constitutes a crime against humanity,” she noted. “Obeying a superior order or policy direction cannot be invoked as justification for torture, and any individual involved should be promptly investigated and prosecuted by independent authorities.”

Reports indicate that as a result of torture, ill-treatment and poor conditions of detention many Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war have suffered physical and psychological traumas, hallucinations, damage to internal organs, fractures and cracks in bones, extreme weight loss, sensory impairment as well as motor losses, strokes or the exacerbation of chronic diseases. Most individuals reportedly did not have access to adequate medical assistance during their detention.

“The longer the war goes on, the more reports are emerging of torture and other inhuman treatment,” Edwards said. “Such cruelty inflames hostility and damages future hopes of peace and reconciliation between neighbors. I strongly urge relevant authorities to ensure that civilians and prisoners of war are protected and treated humanely at all times,” she said.

Based on russia’s conduct in its latest war against Ukraine, the sole purpose of which in the words of putin and all political and military officials is to conquer the country and annihilate the nation, the only way to stop this historically exorbitant level of torture is to defeat russia and bring the perpetrators – all of them from putin to the miserable private on the front line to justice.