Ukraine has accused two Russian staff members of torturing Ukrainian civilians held in a pretrial detention center in the Kursk region of Russia.
According to the Prosecutor General’s Office on Wednesday, Aug. 12, the suspects worked at Pretrial Detention Center No. 1, run by Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service and subjected Ukrainian detainees to physical violence and psychological torture.
“At least five victims of mistreatment have been documented so far,” the Prosecutor General’s Office said, adding that the prison staff had systematically abused Ukrainian civilians who, “as a result of Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine, had been unlawfully deprived of liberty and held on the territory of the aggressor state.”
Charges carrying up to 12 years
The two staff members face charges classified as cruel treatment of civilians committed by a group acting in prior collusion, under Article 438.1 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code.
“The suspects applied electric current to them and beat them with their hands, feet, and a plastic baton on various parts of the body,” the Prosecutor General’s Office said.
Conviction on the charges carries a prison sentence ranging from eight to 12 years.
The notification of suspicion marks a procedural step in Ukraine’s broader effort of documenting and prosecuting war crimes committed against Ukrainian civilians detained in Russia.
Pattern of abuse in Russian captivity
Other Ukrainian nationals held in Russian captivity have also described mistreatment by Russian medical personnel, including denial of treatment and beatings with stun guns.
According to Ukrainska Pravda, released detainees reported that medical staff would sometimes withhold medication unless they first complied with orders to kneel.
Russia’s systematic abuse of children
In May, Ukrainian human rights officials, intelligence officers, former prisoners of war, and the families of those still held launched a documentation project called “Made in Russia, Delivered into Captivity” – a systematic accounting of what Ukraine and international monitors describe as industrial-scale abuse of Ukrainian prisoners of war inside Russian detention facilities.
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) examined allegations involving the forcible transfer and unlawful deportation of children, coercion, intimidation, unlawful detention, illegal adoptions, ill-treatment and other forms of violence in July, while also reviewing Russian school curricula introduced in occupied Ukrainian territories.
The report concluded that Russia’s treatment of Ukrainian children amounts to systematic violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, calling for stronger child protection measures.
Starting Sept. 1, Russia is expanding military training for children, including in occupied Ukrainian territories, and raising the share of mandatory instruction to 50% of school time.