Ukrainian servicewomen tortured in Russian captivity - ombudsperson

That’s according to Ukraine’s Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, Liudmyla Denisova who addressed the issue on Facebook, Ukrinform reports.

According to the Ombudsperson, women who were among 86 liberated soldiers had been subjected to torture and mistreatment in Russian captivity.

“The women were transported to Belarus before being put into a pre-trial detention center in Bryansk, Russia, where they were being tortured and threatened. The captives were forced to undress in front of male guards, to make squats, and got their hair cut. They were also being constantly interrogated – all to destroy their morale,” Liudmyla Denisova wrote,

Some of the female prisoners of war were forced to take part in the filming of propaganda reports, being forced to switch to Russian.

According to the Commissioner, such actions by the Russian Federation violate Article 13 of the Geneva Convention, which emphasizes humane treatment of prisoners of war. They must always be protected, in particular from acts of violence or intimidation, as well as from insults and public curiosity.

Liudmyla Denisova has called on the UN Human Rights Council’s commission investigating violations committed during Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine and the OSCE expert mission created under the Moscow Mechanism to take into account these violations of the rights of Ukrainian prisoners of war.

As Ukrinform reported, a prisoner exchange took place in the Zaporizhia Region on April 1 resulting in the release of 86 Ukrainian soldiers, including 15 females.