Ukraine identifies three Russian military personnel involved in torture in Izyum and Kherson
Ukrainian law enforcement officers have identified three Russian servicemen involved in the torture of civilians during the temporary occupation of Izyum in the Kharkiv region and Kherson. One of them has already been sentenced to life imprisonment for the cruel treatment and murder of a civilian.
This was reported by the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine.
According to the investigation, two servicemen of the 27th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 1st Tank Army of the Western Military District of the Russian Federation tortured a police officer during the occupation of Izyum in May 2022. The law enforcement officer, who was in civilian clothes, was kidnapped by the occupiers and forcibly taken to the basement of one of the garages, where he was tortured for several days.
Investigators found that the victim was beaten with fists and legs, tortured with electric shocks, strangled, blocking the access of oxygen, beaten with an iron rod and rubber batons. The occupiers inserted metal needles into his nose and ears, and when he lost consciousness, they poured cold water over him to continue the beating. As a result, the policeman’s arm was broken. He was held for several days without medical care, water, or food, demanding that he hand over his service weapon. Under threat of death, the man was forced to reveal the place where the pistol was hidden, after which he was released. The suspects are wanted.
Another case of torture and murder occurred in occupied Kherson. According to the prosecutor’s office, a serviceman of the Russian National Guard ensured the functioning of a place of illegal detention of civilians in the building of a temporary detention center, which the occupiers used as a torture chamber. He escorted detained Ukrainians to interrogations, where they were systematically tortured. In June 2022, this serviceman facilitated the intentional murder of one of the detainees: he guarded the door of the cell to prevent the intervention of other prisoners while his colleagues tortured a person to death.
The court found him guilty of violating the laws and customs of war, combined with premeditated murder, and sentenced him to life imprisonment. The materials on the other two involved were submitted to the court separately.
Recall, it was previously reported that Russia officially denounced the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.