15 million for a life: Why families of those who died in Russian captivity struggle to prove their loved ones were tortured.

“I am convinced that experts write in their conclusions about death from illness because the state wants to save on payments to families like mine, as there are many of us,” says Tatiana T., the wife of a soldier. His body was handed over from captivity in March 2024.

“For the family of a deceased captive to receive compensation as for a soldier killed in combat, it is necessary to prove that the person was captured while performing a combat mission. And that the death was caused specifically by being in captivity,” explains military and criminal law attorney Oksana Dogoter from the “Aktum” law firm.

But can Ukrainian experts determine the cause of death of soldiers based on the condition of the bodies returned from Russia? How can the processing of medical documents affect compensation? Why does the Geneva Convention hinder the unhindered assignment of such payments? All this was investigated by hromadske.

Problems with Forensic Examination

“In Donetsk we were forced to squat 5 thousand times a day. There was an older man in the cell. He couldn’t take it anymore, fell down, and we were forbidden to help him. We squatted over him until nightfall. I remember his eyes gradually becoming glassy. His heart stopped.”

“Pavel Bozhko was beaten by Russians so severely that all his bones were broken, and his kidneys failed. In the isolation cell, he wasn’t allowed to sleep for 13 days, and he developed mental disorders. According to Russian documents, he died in prison from pancreatitis,” recounts former fighter Alexei Anula. During his time in Russian captivity, he was moved six times. He was exchanged on the night of January 1, 2023.

According to one investigator conducting a pre-trial investigation into the cases of deceased Ukrainian captives, Russians always cite some illness as the cause of death: pneumonia, tuberculosis, heart failure, gastrointestinal issues, etc.

“I get the impression that our forensic experts, when the body is delivered to Ukraine, simply rewrite the Russian conclusions in Ukrainian and do not conduct a proper examination. The Russians wrote that my husband died of tuberculosis — our experts just repeated it,” says Oksana K., the wife of a captive who died.

However, the investigator refutes this.

“We cannot blindly trust what Russian forensic experts write. After the body is returned, our specialists conduct the examination within the framework of a criminal case regarding the death. The civil registry office issues the death certificate based on the conclusions of Ukrainian experts, not Russian ones,” he told us on condition of anonymity.

According to Alexei Anula, a deceased captive may lie in the cell among the living for a long time until the Russians remove the body. But do they immediately hand it over to their experts for an autopsy? And how much time passes before the exchange occurs?

Forensic expert Stanislav works with bodies returned to Ukraine. He notes that their condition is usually horrific: they may have been buried for a long time in a temporary grave, stored outside of a freezer, or thawed and refrozen multiple times.

Moreover, there are so many bodies for exchange between Russia and Ukraine that they can remain in Ukrainian morgues for months before an examination is conducted. This complicates the expert's work. Tatiana T. shared that forensic experts were even unable to stitch her husband's body after the examination: it was like jelly.

“The examination must answer whether the injuries sustained by the person could have caused their death. There are approved Ministry of Health rules for conducting forensic medical examinations of corpses.

“If a significant amount of time has passed since the death and the body was stored under inappropriate conditions, it becomes difficult to determine the condition of the internal organs due to decay, to find traces of torture. For example, due to decay, signs of hemorrhages or evidence of electric shock may disappear. And if the corpse is skeletonized, it becomes impossible to establish the fact of internal organ rupture due to beating,” says forensic expert Stanislav.

He explains that the Russians apply sophisticated methods of torture to captives: hours of standing with raised arms, being placed in a stone cell (punishment cell), endless push-ups, etc.

“This is a form of torture that leaves no marks: the heart muscle simply cannot withstand it. But what expert will determine the cause of cardiac arrest? However, I can see lobar pneumonia even on a decomposed corpse, as well as broken bones,” adds the forensic expert.   

Would he have died if not for captivity?

For the relatives of those who died in captivity, it is important not only to establish the illness that caused the death. It is necessary for the forensic expert to confirm that the illnesses or injuries incompatible with life were indeed sustained in captivity, and this resulted from the conditions of detention.

“If a person is tortured with hunger for two years, then the cause of their death is irreversible processes in the body caused by prolonged starvation, not just a stomach illness. If a person's heart weakens due to exhaustion or stress in captivity, then 5 thousand squats could be fatal for them.

In the expert's conclusion, the specialist should note that death occurred due to the exacerbation of an illness that arose as a result of torture. And for the expert to write this, the investigator must ask him a specific question about it,” notes attorney Oksana Dogoter.

Thus, if the expert does not link the death to the time spent in captivity in their conclusion, then the investigator did not ask him about this connection.

“I cannot speak for all investigators. Personally, I ask experts the questions that I need within the framework of a specific criminal case,” said the investigator we approached for commentary.

According to Oksana Dogoter, if the investigator did not ask the forensic experts the necessary questions, the relatives of the deceased must seek additional examinations. They should petition for former prisoners who were held with the deceased in the same cell or colony to be interrogated within the framework of the criminal case.

“Every nuance is important here. For example, would the person have died in captivity from this illness if they had received timely professional medical assistance? Is it possible to establish signs of torture? And if the forensic expert writes in the conclusion that it is impossible to establish signs of torture due to tissue decomposition, then lawyers in court can use this fact in favor of the family — if the family wishes to appeal the examination results in court,” says the attorney.

The Cost of One Emphasis

As the investigator informed us, on the bag containing the body, which arrives at a specific morgue after the exchange, there may sometimes be a tag or just a piece of paper with the name and surname of the deceased, a photocopy of the Russian death certificate indicating the date, place, and cause of death.

And while an autopsy can help our experts determine the cause of death, regarding the date and place of death, we have to take the Russians at their word. Or not believe them. And then, in the death certificates, the relevant columns appear with the notation “unknown” — as in the documents of Oksana K. and Tatiana T.'s husbands.

“It turned out that my husband died unknown where and when. And his family cannot claim compensation. Although the Coordination Center and the Red Cross knew where he was held by the Russians,” protests Oksana K.

Thanks to numerous petitions, she managed to have the new medical certificate specify that the place of death was Detention Center No. 2 in Vyazma, Smolensk region of Russia, along with the date of death recorded by the Russians. Similarly, Tatiana T. “fought” to have it noted that her husband died on a specific date in the Russian city of Vladimir.

“But the most important thing for the families of those who died in captivity is the column in the death certificate that indicates the cause of death,” says Tatiana T.

We are talking about item 9 — “Death occurred as a result of.” It has many sub-items that specify the conclusion. The expert must underline the appropriate one. In the documents of Oksana G. and Oksana K.'s husbands, sub-item No. 1 — “Illness” is highlighted. The forensic experts did not find a way to underline sub-item No. 8 — “Injury resulting from actions prescribed by law and military operations.”

“So, my husband was neither at war nor in captivity? I turned to the Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada for Human Rights, the Ministry of Defense, and the Ministry of Health. I received the same responses from all of them, stating that