Russian occupiers are torturing Ukrainian journalists who are being held captive and are subjecting them to inhumane conditions.
This was stated by the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, during a meeting of the parliament’s Temporary Investigative Commission into Russia’s crimes against the media, Ukrinform reports.
According to the Ombudsman, Russia is not releasing journalists because they can professionally describe, show and document the occupiers’ crimes.
“Many of the journalists, according to our information, are being tortured, in inhumane conditions. And let this be my assumption, but everything is being done to worsen their health as much as possible, if not to drive it to something even worse,” Lubinets stressed.
He added that Russia applies such conditions to all captive media representatives. Information about how they are treated becomes known thanks to interviews with Ukrainians who have returned from captivity.
The Ombudsman also noted that journalists are among the most difficult categories to bring back from captivity.
At the same time, Lubinets expressed hope that the developed mechanism for a local ceasefire in Oleshky would help create additional opportunities to free civilian Ukrainians from Russian prisons.
“For now, we have groundwork. But we will see how the Russian side responds to it with American assistance,” he said.
- Ukraine is separately working with Russia on the return from captivity of 28 Ukrainian journalists and members of the journalistic community.