While the use of torture by law enforcement officials in areas not directly affected by the military conflict appears to have decreased, the scale of abuse and major rights violations in Russian-occupied Crimea and in the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts has increased alarmingly since the military conflict began in 2014. There are complaints of torture by Ukrainian soldiers or the Security Service [SBU], as well as by the Russian and pro-Russian militants. The fact that so few agents of the state are held to answer, even where the use of force results in somebody’s death, will be one of the challenges that 12 human rights groups have united to address.
On Jan. 16, the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union and Kharkiv Human Rights Group announced the formation of a Coalition against Torture aimed at preventing the still prevalent use of torture or ill-treatment in places of imprisonment. 12 rights groups from around the country will take part in visiting places of confinement and other activities. The focus is very much on active prevention and help rather than simply monitoring and reporting on conditions in prisons, etc.
