Досье
List of Ukrainian prisoners of war prosecuted under criminal charges, whose cases show evidence of political motivation and legal violations.
Full description
With the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict in 2014, individual Ukrainian prisoners of war began to be prosecuted in Russia as part of politically motivated criminal cases. One example was the prosecution of Nadiya Savchenko, who was captured in Donbas in 2014, and 24 naval servicemen detained on November 25, 2018, in the Kerch Strait; they were recognized as political prisoners by the Memorial Human Rights Center.
After the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops on February 24, 2022, thousands of Ukrainian servicemen were taken prisoner. Hundreds of them faced criminal prosecution. In particular, following the annexation of the so-called “DPR” and “LPR,” Ukrainian prisoners of war held there and charged under the criminal laws of these entities began to be tried under Russian law.
The nature and context of the prosecution of Ukrainian prisoners of war give us grounds to consider all such cases politically motivated.
Dozens of Ukrainians, primarily those accused of participating in extremist or terrorist groups and organizations solely because of their military service in “Azov,” “Aidar,” and other units, have been recognized by us as political prisoners. The prosecution of other Ukrainian POWs on similar charges—details of which we have not yet been able to study—is also undoubtedly unlawful. In many criminal cases, however, we do not know the specifics of the charges; in some instances, Ukrainian POWs are accused of committing war crimes. Recognizing them as political prisoners requires an analysis of case materials, to which we do not have access. Nevertheless, the widespread use of torture against prisoners of war, the failure to meet even minimal standards of a fair trial, and the denial of their right to defense all provide grounds for us to speak of serious violations of their rights.
