There were 35 detention centres in liberated Kherson Oblast where Russians tortured and raped Ukrainians

It has been confirmed that 35 detention centres set up for Ukrainians by the Russian occupiers were located in the liberated territories of Kherson Oblast.

Source: CNN; Reuters, referring to the report prepared by the Mobile Justice Team of the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group (ACA) for Ukraine, financed by the UK, the EU and the US and set up by Global Rights Compliance, an international human rights law firm and foundation, to support Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office (OPG)

Quote: "The report reveals analysis of an initial pool of 320 cases of detention in Kherson, across more than 35 identified detention centres."

Details: Almost half of the Ukrainians held there by the Russians were subjected to wide-scale torture, including sexual violence.

Quote: "Of those victims, at least 43% explicitly mentioned practices of torture in the detention centres, citing sexual violence as a common tactic imposed on them by Russian guards, on both male and female prisoners, with preliminary results showing military personnel were most likely to experience torture in the detention centres. 

One of the authors of the report says those with families in the military were also targeted.

According to the report, at least 36 victims from the pool analysed mentioned the use of electrocution during interrogations, often genital electrocution by Russian guards. Other victims mentioned threats of genital mutilation, and at least one victim was forced to witness the rape of another detainee using a foreign object covered in a condom."

Background:

• The Russians are forcing Ukrainians detained in the occupied territories to dig trenches and graves, torturing them and deporting them to Russia for an indefinite period of time, in direct violation of the Geneva Conventions.
• Torture chambers set up by the Russian occupiers were discovered after a part of Kherson Oblast was liberated in 2022.

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!