Mass sentences for captives in the Russian Federation: how Russians knock down confession and what Ukrainians are accused of
Instead, native servicemen who are held captive by Russia tell about the inability to find prisoners and help, providing protection in the courts, as well as concerned about the fate of their relatives - what to expect after processes. They say that they can be scattered in colonies in Russia, where it will be difficult to find. The focus has collected several stories and spoke with the experts who follow the processes.
One of these suspects, and now "convicted" human rights activist, co -founder of "Public Radio", who from the first days he joined the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Maxim Butkevich. He is a serviceman of a separate special battalion "Berlingo", a platoon commander. In early July 2022 it became known that Butkevich was captured in the Russian military in the area of settlements of Golden and Mountain Luhansk region.
However, Maxim Butkevich was not considered a prisoner of war, he was charged with "abuse of civilians and the use of prohibited methods in armed conflict", accused "an attempt on the murder of two persons in a generally dangerous way and intentional damage. It is said that on June 4, he fired from a grenade launcher in Severodonetsk, Luhansk region in a house and injured two women.
Colleagues of the serviceman, human rights activists who all this time follow the "case" of Butkevich, say that she is fabricated, with her help is pressure on Maxim and society, since Butkevich is a media person. In addition, it has already been established that at the specified time the unit "Berlingo" was not in Severodonetsk at all. Nevertheless, in the spring of 2023, the so -called court controlled in Lugansk sentenced Maxim Butkevich to 13 years of a strict regime colony in Lugansk.
The report of the Investigative Committee of Russia states that Butkevich allegedly pleaded guilty. In August 2023, the first Court of Appeal of General Jurisdiction in Moscow confirmed this "sentence". Butkevich was not brought to court from Lugansk, he appeared on a duty. The victims who were allegedly wounded did not want to participate in the meeting. Another victim who was "causing significant damage" wrote a written statement and also did not come to Russia.
In parallel with this process, another took place in the occupied Donetsk. Above representatives of the regiment "Azov". They were accused of "attempted murder based on ideological and national hatred. " In the end, the Courtyard received 8. 5 years of colonies, the shel - 18. 5 years. Their Russians were transferred to colony # 32 in occupied Makeevka to serve their sentence. All three were one of the first convicted Ukrainian prisoners of war.
Since then, dozens of Ukrainian servicemen have found themselves in the defendants in Donetsk and Lugansk. On September 29, 2023, the press service of the Investigative Committee of Russia announced the sentence to the three representatives of the 23th separate infantry battalion of the 56 brigade (military unit A 2988, Mariupol) Dmitry Ivashchenko, Sergey Yaremkevich and Vladislav Bondar. They were captured, leaving the Illich plant in Mariupol on April 12, 2022.
The three was sentenced in Donetsk for 20 years. They were found guilty of "abuse of civilian populations, the use in armed conflict of prohibited methods" and "attempted murder of two or more persons committed by an organized group, based on political, ideological hatred. " The prosecution claimed that these military, as well as a group of unidentified persons, "seeing a column of five civilian cars, whose side mirrors were tied white ribbons, opened fire by order of the higher command.
" The prosecution states that "the convicts knew and realized that in Mariupol there were civilians who could not or did not have time to leave the area of armed conflict. " "Due to the happy case, the victims managed to escape on cars from the shelling zone and hide in a safe place," the Russian investigation of the Russian Federation said. A week before, on September 18, the so-called court in Donetsk sentenced 27-year-old Vladislav Kulik to life imprisonment.
He is also a 56 Brigade serviceman who defended Mariupol. Kulik was accused of killing the locals of Mariupol. "He and his companions shot eight civilians, including one woman. It happened between February 24 and April 12, 2022," the Investigative Committee said. At the same time, servicemen who return from captivity remember numerous interrogations, during which the Russians try to knock out similar confessions, experts say.
They are carried out by both employees of various penitentiary institutions and the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, trying to find out what is known about the murder of civilians. "From one of the former prisoners of war, we know that the" convicted "to lifelong Vladislav Kulik is currently in a correctional colony in Gorlovka in the occupied territory, in a separate barrack, where the defenders of Mariupol are kept - mostly Marines.
" Azov "there are also, but its representatives They are kept separately in the detention center and also taken to the courts. For example, in September, a "sentence" in the form of 20 years of imprisonment has already received Renat Aliyev, " - says a representative of a human rights organization Media Initiative for Human Rights, which follows the processes organized by the Russian Federation. , Olena Belyachkova is over Ukrainian prisoners of war.
She explains that in Kalinin correctional colony No. 27 in occupied Gorlovka, many Ukrainian prisoners of war are kept. "Everyone is taken to interrogations in Donetsk, and some to the so -called court sessions. And it is often not clear whether they take a person for questioning or already" court. " called investigative actions. After receiving the "sentences", the boys are also left in Gorlovka, "she adds. Mostly, Mariupol was suspected.
There are also those who fought for Popasna, Severodonetsk, Luhansk region. "The Russians are very focused on gathering some" evidence base "about the events in the captured Mariupol. We have to hear from the former prisoners that" questionnaires "who give them in the beginning of captivity there are many questions about events in this city. On them. Even those who were captured in other areas must be answered, - continues Elena Belyachkova.
- There are so many civilian deaths in Mariupol, Russia wants to accuse them of Ukraine, it is obvious. But these testimonies, if they can be called, are often knocked out. One of the interview former prisoners of war recalled that the guy from the barracks returned so beaten, he could not move on his own - he "confessed" in the murder , more will take crimes. " Lawyers say such practice has nothing to do with justice.
"We cannot exclude that hostilities can be civilians, and each such case should be, of course, objectively and impartially investigated, guilty of prosecuted.
However, whether we can expect that such an investigation will be conducted in Donetsk or Lugansk? " - says the Focus lawyer, partner of JSC "Ambrel" Andriy Yakovlev, he notes that in the occupied territory the functions of the investigation and the court are performed by the authorities created by Russia in violation of the rules of international humanitarian law. "They are created so that it excludes their independence and impartiality," says the lawyer.
"People who" investigate "," support charges "," judge ", actually perform the functions of the executive power, and in fact is the only part of the repressive power mechanism. In the occupied territories, Russia eliminated the Ukrainian judicial system and turned the court into a fully dependent organization. Now they are part of the Russian occupation administration, so they only mimic legal procedures.
And this is recorded Complaints in the interstate case Ukraine against the Russian Federation determined that in the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk region, as well as in the Crimea there are no means of legal protection and therefore there is no possibility of fair trial. He called the activity of the law enforcement system by administrative practice.
That is, he recognized that the so -called courts - It is the continuation of the executive, not the individual independent judicial system. " And if these bodies are not independent, unable to perform their function, then they can be argued that they are not able to conduct an objective investigation into the circumstances that occurred and to establish the involvement of specific accused.
"If you take the latest report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, which mentions an explosion in a colony in Olenivka in the summer of 2022. Experts indicate that Russians do not allow an independent mission to the crime scene and collect all its traces. If they are in such an important crime, To which the whole world draws attention, they do not allow independent experts, toss the fragments of Himars, then what it says? about what they distort the evidence. , - adds the expert.
That is, when we are talking about considering such quasiudas, the validity of the prosecution in committing war crimes (and the murder of civilians is a military crime), it is unlikely to expect an objective investigation. And especially in the conditions when most soldiers released from captivity testify to systemic torture. "In the face of torture it is impossible to obtain qualitative evidence," Andrei Yakovlev.
- It has long been determined that torture is not applied not only because of humanitarian restrictions, but also because the quality of evidence is low in the case of torture. They acknowledged that they were witches and flying. Justice who wants to establish the truth cannot take into account the testimony provided under torture, because no person would withstand and will give the testimony that will free it from torture.
" In addition, the occupation cannot have the proper protection of the accused. Native military who spoke focus indicate that they are unable to find a lawyer capable of protecting in the occupied territories. "We can imagine the femida, with the eyes tied.
On the one hand, the prosecutor whispers to her, and she listens to him, because it is dependent on him as a representative of the executive power, and on the other - no one to oppose, silence from protection, because it is not As there are no independent media, observers in the process. In such circumstances, the court is not a cruel farce, " - sums up Andrei Yakovlev. It is now known that most of the "convicted" Russia leaves in the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.