On Monday, March 20, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry into Violations in Ukraine will present to the UN Human Rights Council its findings on the torture of Ukrainians by the occupiers. In particular, the report refers to “denazification sessions”.

The “denazification session”, which the occupiers are forcing Ukrainians to undergo, consists of severe beatings and torture. In particular, the Independent Commission is aware of the fact that prisoners were subjected to electric shocks using a military telephone, which Russian executioners also called “a call to Putin.”

How Russians torture Ukrainians

The report of the commission refers to documented cases of torture in Chernihiv, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Kyiv, Sumy and Zaporozhye regions and on the territory of Russia. In most cases, the Russians tortured men, and the victims of torture were both prisoners of war and civilians.

Particularly brutal torture was used against active or former members of the Ukrainian armed forces and persons associated with them, including their relatives. The victims of torture were also local officials, law enforcement officers, employees of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, civilians with pro-Ukrainian views, the report says.

The purpose of torture is to obtain information about the Armed Forces of Ukraine, confession or coercion to cooperate. Russians often combine prolonged torture with interrogations. The victims were handcuffed or handcuffed, their feet and eyes were tied. The captured Russians call “fascists”, “Nazis” and “terrorists” and send them to “denazification sessions” – that is, they are severely beaten.

In the first weeks of the armed conflict, during their stay in temporary places of detention in Ukraine, the victims told about beatings with rifle butts or batons, the use of electric shockers, rape and prolonged exposure to cold. In some cases, torture was accompanied by executions, the report says.

One of the main methods of torturing Russians is a tapik military telephone connected to an electric cable with clamps on the legs, fingers or genitals of men. The occupiers call this torture “calls to Putin” or “calls to Lenin.” The Russians also hang prisoners with their hands tied and use plastic bags to suffocate. Many victims of torture witnessed the deaths of other Russian victims.

Torture for the Ukrainian language

Those who are sent to Russia for detention first of all go through the “acceptance procedure” – being hit with electric shockers, beaten with batons, suffocated with plastic bags and forced to be naked in front of others. The commission also tells about a specific case, which the former prisoner testified to – first he was beaten for speaking Ukrainian, and then for not knowing the words of the Russian anthem.

Another prisoner said that she lost consciousness during the beating, and the invaders brought him to his senses and continued to beat him.

The focus of this attitude on specific categories of persons and the consistent use of the same methods of torture in several regions of Ukraine, which the Russian authorities controlled for a long period of time, allowed the Commission to conclude that the Russian authorities used torture systematically and everywhere. These circumstances, including elements of planning and available resources, indicate that the Russian authorities may have committed torture that constitutes crimes against humanity, the commission concludes.

The Independent Commission will continue to investigate torture by Russians against Ukrainians, in particular, to determine whether they were aimed at supporting certain policies in this regard.