The Prosecutor’s Office has submitted to the court the materials of the case about torture in Kupyansk during the occupation
Prosecutors have submitted to the court an indictment against 18 people whom the investigation considers to be involved in the torture of civilians during the occupation of Kupyansk in 2022. This was reported by the Prosecutor General’s Office.
According to the investigation, from March to September 2022, a torture chamber operated in the building of the district police department, where civilians were illegally detained. Law enforcement officers have identified more than 90 victims. Among them are teachers, rescuers, war veterans, representatives of state authorities, volunteers, entrepreneurs and other local residents.
“People were held in inhumane conditions: there were 15 people in cells designed for two or three people. Due to critical overcrowding, the detainees were suffocated, without water and basic medical care. They were fed mainly with leftover food left over from the Russian military. Some victims lost up to 20 kilograms of weight during the period of detention,” the report says.
During torture, people were forced to give false testimony, admit to alleged cooperation with the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Security Service of Ukraine, and slander their acquaintances. If they refused, they were threatened with murder, torture of loved ones or detention of relatives. Psychological pressure was often used – imitation of executions or forcing to dig graves.
During the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in September 2022, the Russian military escaped, leaving the cells with prisoners closed. People broke the bars themselves, found their documents and were able to escape.
“The investigation identified 18 people involved in the detention and abuse of civilians. Among them: the so-called “head” of the “internal affairs department” illegally formed by the occupation forces, Russian military personnel, members of the illegal “L/DPR” formations, as well as former police officers,” the prosecutor’s office noted.
According to preliminary data, at least 150 Ukrainian citizens could have been illegally detained in the temporary detention center. Two deaths are known for certain, and ten more people are considered missing.
Investigators also received a list of over 500 people who were in the temporarily occupied territory of the Kupyansky district from the GUR of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. Work to identify those involved in war crimes is ongoing.
The indictment concerns a violation of the laws and customs of war committed by a group of individuals in a prior conspiracy. Two defendants are additionally charged with collaborationist activities. Two defendants will appear in court in person, the rest will be tried in absentia, as they are wanted.
“The most severe sanction of the incriminated articles provides for up to fifteen years of imprisonment with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a period of ten to fifteen years and with or without confiscation of property,” the law enforcement officials noted.
