DPR Ombudsman receives evidence of existence of secret prisons in Ukraine

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People released from Ukrainian captivity on December 27 as part of the exchange told about secret prisons used by Kiev. This was announced by the DPR Human Rights Ombudsman Daria Morozova during a video linkup at a roundtable hosted by TASS and devoted to reports by international organizations on the crimes in Donbass.

“We found out from interviews with released captives that the practice of secret prisons is still in place in Ukraine,” said DPR Ombudsman.

DPR authorities are doing their best to inform the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) when the rights of individuals captured by Ukraine are violated, she added.

On December 27, 2017, a prisoner exchange, the largest so far, took place on the line of contact in Donbass. Kiev handed over 233 prisoners to the Donbass Republics and received 73 prisoners in return. Both parties stressed that the prisoner exchange process had not been completed and they were determined to do everything possible to continue it in 2018.

Torture in Ukraine

International Criminal Court accepted 332 cases of torture in Ukraine for processing, told a member of the Commission on Recording and Collecting Evidences of Ukrainian Government’s War Crimes in Donbass Elena Shishkina. All cases were provided by DPR.

“We received a response from the ICC Prosecutor, under which the matter of torture of activists and prisoners of war was accepted for consideration – 332 cases,” said Shishkina.

In total, the public commission submitted 585 cases of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Ukraine to the ICC, she added. Furthermore, there are relevant expert opinions attached.

The Public Commission on Recording and Collecting Evidences of Ukrainian Government’s War Crimes in Donbass started in mid-2015. The commission comprises specialists of various fields, in particular, experts in the field of law and forensic science.

Read more: TASS