Sunday03 November 2024
ukr-mafia.com

Why does Russia need civilian captives, and why are there no compensations for the families of the deceased in Ukraine? An interview with an expert.

Securing the release of civilians from Russian captivity can be more challenging than that of military personnel. The first civilian hostages finally returned to Ukraine in June 2024, yet thousands still remain imprisoned.
Почему России нужны гражданские пленные, и почему Украина не предоставляет выплаты семьям погибших? Читайте интервью с экспертом.
Екатерина Огиевская, координатор семей гражданских заложников, эксперт МИПЧ

According to the Ministry of Defense, as of early October, at least 177 Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian hostages have died in Russian captivity. Recently, we learned about the death of our colleague, journalist Viktoriya Roshchina. Is it known under what circumstances Ukrainians die in captivity? Is this primarily related to torture?

Yes, Ukrainians are held in inadequate conditions and are not provided with sufficient food. Moreover, the Russians do not differentiate between a civilian hostage and a prisoner of war—they are kept under the same conditions and share the same cells.

It is known that during interrogations, both military and civilian, the Russians employ torture: in particular, in some colonies and detention centers, they use electric shocks or other improvised means.

Those who return from captivity, especially military personnel, report that a person can walk to an interrogation on their own, but is returned unconscious. Everything depends on who conducts the interrogation and how brutal the methods used are.

Are there known cases of suicides among civilian prisoners since 2014?

There are no confirmed cases of suicide in places of captivity on the territory of the Russian Federation or in temporarily occupied territories. However, there have indeed been suicide attempts.

For example, in June of this year, Yelena Pech returned after serving a 13-year sentence and spending over six years in captivity. Her daughter has mentioned in interviews that her mother was driven to the point of suicide, but fortunately, she is still alive.

During the full-scale invasion, there were also recorded instances of individuals not being able to withstand the conditions and treatment they received, attempting suicide. As far as we know, the staff at places of captivity provided them with medical assistance, and the individuals survived.

Has the information provided by the Russian side about the deaths of Ukrainians in captivity always been truthful? What mechanisms exist for verifying this data?

There are no direct mechanisms for verifying the information provided by the Russian side. Typically, Russia either responds directly through a letter or communicates through the ICRC. They may also simply ignore the question.

People who have returned from captivity have reported cases where someone disappeared— for example, a person went for interrogation and did not return. It is unclear whether they were transferred further or if something happened to them during the interrogation.

There was a case involving a civilian who was detained in the Kyiv region and sent to a detention center in Kursk. Cellmates testified that he could not withstand the “intake”. His daughter inquired in Russia about her father's whereabouts and received a response stating that he had died. However, no reason was given in Russia.

Until a body is returned, we cannot assert that a person has died. There have been cases where a person was considered deceased, their relatives even received confirmation through DNA testing, and burials were conducted, only for the individual to return from captivity after some time. However, such occurrences have been among military prisoners, not civilians.

Among civilians, there have been cases where a person could be considered missing for over a year until someone from the released individuals reported that they were together or confirmation came from the ICRC.

Is the procedure for transferring the bodies of deceased military personnel different from that of civilian hostages?

No, the procedure is identical. They are transferred during a general exchange, meaning alongside the bodies of deceased military personnel. When the bodies reach territory controlled by Ukraine, all necessary procedures are conducted, and only then are the relatives informed.

A body may be in such a condition that it can be easily recognized if there are documents, but still, DNA analysis is conducted for identity confirmation. However, sometimes bodies are returned with significant delays—six months or a year after death, complicating verification.

In Ukraine, DNA testing can take up to a year, depending on the condition of the returned body and how quickly kinship can be established. There have been cases where families believed their loved ones were in captivity, only to find out that their bodies had been in Ukraine for six months. Human rights defenders are currently trying to expedite this process.

If a body is returned long after death, it is nearly impossible to establish whether there was torture. This was the case with civilians detained in 2022 in northern Ukraine. Forensic examinations in Russia may record the cause of death as a heart attack or tuberculosis, making it difficult to prove that violence occurred.

For instance, there was a case involving a civilian detained in the Chernihiv region during the occupation in March 2022. His body was returned only in the spring of 2024. Additionally, it was reported in the summer about the return from captivity of the body of the village head of Grebenikivka in the Sumy region.

What support and assistance can relatives of civilian Ukrainians who died in captivity expect? Are there any state payments or support programs?

Unfortunately, in the case of civilian Ukrainians who die in captivity, there is currently no clear system for assistance or payments. I think the system has not yet been established, as there have not been many cases of returning civilian bodies.

Perhaps at the local level, the relatives of the deceased receive support from the city or village council. But at the state level, this does not exist.

When a person returns from captivity alive, they have the right to receive a one-time financial aid of 100,000 hryvnias from the Ministry of Reintegration.

This applies not only to civilians who return to Ukraine alongside military prisoners within exchange frameworks but also to those who were simply detained, for example, in temporarily occupied territories, and later released, provided there are confirming factors.

According to the ombudsman, as of July 2024, Russians are forcibly holding more than 14,000 civilian Ukrainians detained since 2014. Why does Russia need civilian hostages?

At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, many civilians fell into captivity due to disobedience or because they provided information about the location of Russian troops. However, there were also cases where civilian buildings were situated in strategically advantageous locations, and Russian soldiers took people to prevent them from relaying information to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

When it comes to long-occupied territories, many cases are related to children not attending Russian schools or their parents not obtaining Russian passports. This is all part of a strategy to intimidate the civilian population to force compliance with new rules. If a neighbor is detained and returns beaten and exhausted, it instills fear in others and compels them to obey.

In occupied territories, people are mainly detained for several hours for identity checks. However, there have also been instances where civilians remained in basements or places of captivity for months or even years, like some prisoners in the Berdyansk detention center.

Is it indeed more difficult to return civilian Ukrainians in some cases than military personnel?

Yes. If the procedure for returning military personnel is already established—there are specific agreements, lists are exchanged, and the number of individuals for each exchange is coordinated—returning civilians is impossible since they are held illegally.

Only this year have there been changes to government resolution No. 257, which finally allowed work to commence on the return of civilian hostages. The first returns occurred in June, but the mechanisms are not yet fully established. Importantly, civilian hostages are now being discussed at the international level.

It is unclear why Russia continues to hold them. Moreover, not all of them are transferred to Russia—sometimes they are simply kept in basements, released, and then live in fear. Some individuals have even been detained twice: the first time nothing was found, they were released, and then came back and detained again.

For some civilians, legal cases can even be fabricated. If they have a lawyer, it provides at least some connection to their relatives, offering a chance to learn something. But this is not always the case. In many instances, particularly in Crimea, legal cases are closed, and it is impossible to even find out what their sentence is or what they were charged with.

If there is already a legal case or a sentence, is it realistic to return a civilian hostage?

Yes, even if a Ukrainian has already been convicted and sent to serve their sentence, it does not mean they will remain on Russian territory. In June, part of the Ukrainians convicted as early as 2014, who had been imprisoned for several years and were serving their sentences in the Donetsk region, were returned.

This indicates that, in principle, it is possible to return everyone. It all depends on negotiations and how willing the Russian side is to quickly return a particular individual.

Who among civilian Ukrainians in captivity is the hardest to return, considering age, gender, profession?

It is difficult to single anyone out. Even compared to prisoners of war, Russia does not always return those for whom Ukraine makes requests. In most cases, they return those whom Russia decides on its own.

We know that there are camps where civilian hostages were taken