Torture of prisoners in the Russian Federation is widespread and systematic – UN Commission

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The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine has documented new cases of torture committed by the Russian authorities against civilians and prisoners of war.

We collected evidence of sexual violence, which was used as torture, mostly against male victims in prisons, as well as rape of women in villages under Russian control. During the previous mandates, the Commission emphasized that the torture used by the Russian authorities is widespread and systematic, the report states.

Within this mandate, the Commission identified additional common elements in the use of torture by the Russian authorities, which confirms the conclusion that it is systematic.

One of these elements is the consistency of practices in prisons where detainees from Ukraine are held in the Russian Federation, as well as the reproduction of these practices in several large penitentiary institutions in the occupied territories of Ukraine. Another common element emerging from the evidence points to the coordinated use of personnel from certain Russian Federation services involved in torture in all places of detention investigated by the Commission. Another common feature is the repeated use of sexual violence as a form of torture in almost all of these places of detention, the report says.

According to the UN Commission, the number of victims of the armed conflict today is more than 11,743 dead and 24,614 wounded civilians.