a. Arbitrary Deprivation of Life and Other Unlawful or Politically Motivated Killings
There were reports that the government or its agents committed possible arbitrary or unlawful killings.
Human rights organizations and media outlets reported deaths due to torture or negligence by police or prison officers (see section 1.c.). For example, according to press reports, on June 11 in Vinnytsia, a police officer approached Civic Position political party activist Oleksandr Komarnitsky at a bus stop and beat him when he allegedly refused to serve as a witness in a criminal case. He was taken to the hospital in a coma and died 12 days later. On June 22, the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) charged one officer with abuse of power and unlawful violence. A court placed the officer under house arrest on June 23. Several top officials of Vinnytsia Oblast police, including its chief, were suspended or fired in connection with the case.
There were reports that state actors ordered or took part in targeted attacks on civil society activists and journalists in connection with their work, which in some cases resulted in death. For example, on February 11, the Prosecutor General’s Office arrested and charged the head of the Kherson regional legislature, Vladyslav Manger, with organizing the 2018 fatal acid attack on public activist and advisor to the Kherson city mayor Kateryna Handziuk. The same day the Prosecutor General’s Office announced that it was investigating the deputy governor of Kherson Oblast, Yevhen Ryshchuk, for involvement in Handziuk’s killing. In March investigative reporters at Slidstvo.info published allegations by one of the men who allegedly carried out the attack that Ryshchuk had sought to hire him to “punish” Handziuk. On April 17, authorities downgraded 2018 charges against former parliamentary aide Ihor Pavlovsky from complicity in murder to concealment of a crime, alleging that he worked to cover up responsibility for the killing of Handziuk. As of October his trial continued, but he had been released on bail. According to October press reports, Pavlovsky repeatedly refused to appear at court hearings, citing unsubstantiated health concerns. On June 6, a court in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast convicted five persons accused of carrying out the killing on charges of deliberately causing grievous bodily harm resulting in death. They were sentenced to terms of three to six-and-a-half years in prison. Each suspect agreed to testify against those who ordered the killing. As of late September, prosecutors had not charged anyone for ordering the killing. Human rights defenders and Handziuk’s supporters alleged that authorities failed to investigate the crime fully. In July 2018 an unknown person poured concentrated sulfuric acid on Handziuk, resulting in serious chemical burns to more than a third of her body. Handziuk died of her injuries in November 2018.
There were reports of politically motivated killings by unknown actors. For example, on the morning of May 4, an unknown assailant attacked journalist Vadym Komarov, known for his investigative reports on corruption, in downtown Cherkasy. The assailant hit him on the head several times with an object police believed to be a hammer, breaking his skull. On June 20, Komarov died in the local hospital. Komarov faced threats for years as a result of his reporting and was shot at in 2016 and seriously beaten in 2017, according to the Institute for Mass Information (IMI). As of October a police investigation continued, but no arrests had been made. Among the individuals reportedly under investigation for involvement in the crime was the father of a local deputy mayor.
On December 12, police arrested five suspects in connection with the killing of prominent Belarusian-Russian journalist Pavel Sheremet. All suspects had previous military experience as volunteers in the conflict with Russia-led forces. The investigation continued at year’s end.
Law enforcement agencies continued to investigate killings and other crimes committed during the Euromaidan protests in Kyiv in 2013-2014. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) noted little progress had been made in investigating the killings of protesters. Human rights groups criticized the low number of convictions despite the existence of considerable evidence. A February 19 statement by Amnesty International alleged that law enforcement bodies “resisted and obstructed justice” in relation to Euromaidan cases. As of late November, the Prosecutor General’s Office had identified 448 suspects in Euromaidan-related crimes, most of them former law enforcement officers, but also city administration officials, prosecutors, and judges. In total, the cases of 298 individuals were sent to court. Of those, 58 cases resulted in court decisions including 48 convictions, but only nine custodial sentences were handed down. Not one of the individuals imprisoned was a former police officer. On July 16, a Kyiv court authorized the release of one former Berkut officer on bail, and on October 24, a court removed the requirement that he wear a monitoring bracelet, which observers believed made him a flight risk. On August 31, a court acquitted a former Berkut officer and current police officer of torturing two Euromaidan activists. The prosecution appealed the case. On August 8, as part of reforms of the Prosecutor General’s Office, the prosecutor general dissolved two units within the Special Investigation Department responsible for the majority of investigations into crimes committed during the Euromaidan protests. Human rights experts saw the decision as another step endangering investigations into Euromaidan-related crimes. On October 28, human rights groups and families of the victims released a joint statement expressing their fear that investigations into the killings will be further delayed or halted altogether, because the National Anticorruption Bureau and the SBI, two newly-created bodies to which the Prosecutor General’s Office transferred the Euromaidan investigations, did not have the necessary processes or personnel to fulfill the task. On December 29, the country released into the custody of proxy authorities in Donbas former Berkut officers Pavlo Abroskin, Oleksandr Marynchenko, Serhiy Tamtur, Oleh Yanishevsky, and Serhiy Zinchenko, who were charged with killing 48 protesters and wounding another 80 in Kyiv in 2014, as part of a negotiated prisoner and detainee exchange with Russia.
The HRMMU did not note any progress in the investigation and legal proceedings in connection with the 2014 trade union building fire in Odesa that stemmed from violent clashes between pro-Russian and Ukrainian unity demonstrators. During the clashes and fire, 48 persons died. As of August 15, preliminary hearings had begun against three high-ranking Odesa police officers and two officials charged with abuse of authority, forgery, and dereliction of duty in protecting people from danger.
There were civilian casualties in connection with Russian aggression in the Luhansk and Donetsk Oblasts (see section 1.g.).
b. Disappearance
There were reports that state agents abducted and deported without due process foreign citizens whose return was allegedly sought by their governments (see section 2.d.).
There were reports of politically motivated disappearances in connection with the Russian aggression in the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts (see section 1.g.).
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
Although the constitution and law prohibit torture and other cruel and unusual punishment, there were reports that law enforcement authorities engaged in such abuse. While courts cannot legally use as evidence in court proceedings confessions and statements made under duress to police by persons in custody, there were reports that police and other law enforcement officials abused and, at times, tortured persons in custody to obtain confessions.
In the Donbas region, the HRMMU continued to document cases of abuse by government agents, including torture and arbitrary arrests. There were reports that Russia-led forces in the “people’s republics” of Donetsk and Luhansk systematically committed numerous abuses, including torture, to maintain control or for personal financial gain. According to international organizations and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), abuses included beatings, forced labor, psychological and physical torture, public humiliation, and sexual violence (see section 1.g.).
Abuse of detainees by police remained a widespread problem. For example, on September 17, the Prosecutor General’s Office and SBI in Transcarpathia announced the opening of a criminal investigation into reports of torture by police in Uzhhorod. According to press accounts, on September 13, police detained Ihor Harmatiy and Ivan Bukov, who were reportedly ethnic Roma, on suspicion of involvement in a theft. According to Harmatiy, police took him to the police station, chained him to a radiator, beat him to coerce a confession, and hung him in stress positions until he lost consciousness. He was subsequently hospitalized with two broken arms, a ruptured spleen and bladder, and pelvic displacement. He also lost several teeth. Bukov managed to loosen his handcuffs and jumped out of a fourth-story window to escape abuse and was hospitalized for injuries sustained in the fall. As of October no arrests had been made.
In a report released on January 17 based on a May-June 2018 visit to the country, the UN special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (UN SRT) stated that he “had received numerous allegations of torture and ill-treatment at the hands of the police, including against juveniles as young as 14, almost always occurring at the time of apprehension and interrogation. Most inmates reported that investigative officers used such treatment to intimidate them or to force them to confess to an alleged crime.” The report cited allegations of excessive use of force, including kicks and truncheon blows after being handcuffed and placed face down on the ground, and use of threats of death, pain, and violence, including rape with objects, during questioning. The special rapporteur further found that lawyers, police officers, prosecutors, and judges lacked basic knowledge to investigate and document allegations of torture and mistreatment adequately. As a consequence victims of torture or other mistreatment generally did not get help from state authorities.
According to the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group, those who filed complaints of torture with the Office of the Prosecutor General reported that law enforcement officers intimidated them or their relatives, forcing them to withdraw their complaints.
There were reports of sexual violence being committed in the context of the conflict in eastern Ukraine (see section 1.g.).
Prison and Detention Center Conditions
Prison and detention center conditions remained poor, did not meet international standards, and at times posed a serious threat to the life and health of prisoners. Physical abuse, lack of proper medical care and nutrition, poor sanitation, and lack of adequate light were persistent problems.
Physical Conditions: Overcrowding remained a problem in some pretrial detention facilities, although human rights organizations reported that overcrowding at such centers decreased as a result of reforms in 2016 that eased detention requirements for suspects. While authorities generally held adults and juveniles in separate facilities, there were reports that juveniles and adults were often not separated in some pretrial detention facilities.
Physical abuse by guards was a problem. For example, in March experts from the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group visited Prison #26 in Zhovti Vody in response to complaints of a mass beating of inmates after prison administrators called in special forces, allegedly to prevent a riot. The experts identified seven inmates with signs of serious physical abuse; eight other inmates were transferred to a prison facility in Kryvy Rih after the incident. Inmates alleged that prison staff beat them, restrained them with tape, put plastic bags on their heads, threw them in prison trucks, and transported them to a different facility. Prison administrators claimed the inmates had inflicted bodily injuries on themselves. Police opened an investigation of the incident that continued as of mid-October.
There were reports of prisoner-on-prisoner violence. For example, according to press reports, in March an inmate of a Berdyansk Prison raped an inmate, allegedly at the direction of the prison administration. The victim was reportedly a 23-year-old veteran serving time for going absent without leave. Authorities at the facility denied allegations that the rape occurred at the direction of prison administrators. Police opened an investigation, but no arrests had been made as of October. According to press reports, the local military prosecutor and police repeatedly approached the victim and demanded that he sign documents stating that he did not hold prison authorities responsible for the attack. According to human rights defenders, the facility had a reputation for torture.
Most detention facilities were old and needed renovation or replacement. According to the UN SRT, some cells and facilities had very poor sanitary conditions. Some detainees reported that their cells were poorly ventilated and infested with insects. In Odesa the UN SRT reported remand prison cell walls were covered with mold and that sanitary facilities were clogged. Conditions in police temporary detention facilities and pretrial detention facilities were harsher than in low- and medium-security prisons. Temporary detention facilities often had insect and rodent infestations and lacked adequate sanitation and medical facilities. In a report of its 2017 visit to the country, the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) expressed concern that prisoners in pretrial detention were generally not offered any out-of-cell activities other than outdoor exercise for an hour per day in small yards.
The quality of food in prisons was generally poor. According to the January report of the UN SRT, inmates received three meals a day, although in most places the food was described as “inedible,” leading inmates to rely on supplementary food they received through parcels from family. According to the CPT, in some pretrial detention centers, detainees did not have consistent access to food and water. According to the UN SRT, most hygienic products including toilet paper, soap, and feminine hygiene products were not provided, and detainees relied on supplies provided by family or donated by humanitarian organizations. In some facilities cells had limited access to daylight and were not properly heated or ventilated.
UN and other international monitors documented systemic problems with the provision of medical care. The CPT observed a lack of medical confidentiality, poor recording of injuries, and deficient access to specialists, including gynecological and psychiatric care. There was a shortage of all kinds of medications with an overreliance on prisoners and their families to provide most of the medicines. Conditions in prison health-care facilities were poor and unhygienic. Bureaucratic and financial impediments prevented the prompt transfer of inmates to city hospitals, resulting in their prolonged suffering and delayed diagnoses and treatment.
The condition of prison facilities and places of unofficial detention in Russia-controlled areas continued to deteriorate. According to the Justice for Peace coalition, there was an extensive network of unofficial places of detention in the Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts located in basements, sewage wells, garages, and industrial enterprises. There were reports of severe shortages of food, water, heat, sanitation, and proper medical care. The HRMMU was denied access to detainees held inside Russia’s proxies–the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (“DPR”) and Luhansk People’s Republic (“LPR”). The lack of access to detainees raised concerns about the conditions of detention and treatment.
The East Human Rights Group continued to report systemic abuses against prisoners in the LPR, such as torture, starvation, denial of medical care, and solitary confinement as well as the extensive use of prisoners as slave labor to produce goods that, when sold, provided personal income to the leaders of the Russia-led forces. Based on interviews with prisoners transferred to government-controlled territory, the HRMMU reported that forced labor was used in Sukhodilsk Prison in Luhansk Oblast. Those who refused to work were punished through beatings or solitary confinement.
Since 2015 more than 500 inmates had been transferred from the areas in Donbas controlled by Russia-led forces to facilities in government-controlled areas.
Administration: Although prisoners and detainees may file complaints about conditions in custody with the human rights ombudsman, human rights organizations noted prison officials continued to censor or discourage complaints and penalized and abused inmates who filed them. Human rights groups reported that legal norms did not always provide for confidentiality of complaints. According to representatives of the national preventive mechanism, an organization that conducted monitoring visits of places of detention, authorities did not always conduct proper investigations of complaints.
While officials generally allowed prisoners, except those in disciplinary cells, to receive visitors, prisoner rights groups noted some families had to pay bribes to obtain permission for prison visits to which they were entitled by law.
Independent Monitoring: The government generally permitted independent monitoring of prisons and detention centers by international and local human rights groups, including the CPT, the Ombudsman’s Office, and the HRMMU.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention
The constitution and law prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention and provide for the right of any person to challenge the lawfulness of his or her arrest or detention in court, but the government did not always observe these requirements.
The HRMMU and other monitoring groups reported numerous arbitrary detentions in connection with the conflict between the government and Russia-led forces in the Donbas region (see section 1.g.).
Arrest Procedures and Treatment of Detainees
By law authorities may detain a suspect for three days without a warrant, after which a judge must issue a warrant authorizing continued detention. Authorities in some cases detained persons for longer than three days without a warrant.
Prosecutors must bring detainees before a judge within 72 hours, and pretrial detention should not exceed six months for minor crimes and 12 months for serious ones. Persons have the right to consult a lawyer upon their detention. According to the law, prosecutors may detain suspects accused of terrorist activities for up to 30 days without charges or a bench warrant. Under the law citizens have the right to be informed of the charges brought against them. Authorities must promptly inform detainees of their rights and immediately notify family members of an arrest. Police often did not follow these procedures. Police at times failed to keep records or register detained suspects, and courts often extended detention to allow police more time to obtain confessions.
In a report on its 2017 visit to the country, the CPT expressed concern about a widespread practice of unrecorded detention, in particular, the unrecorded presence in police stations of persons “invited” for “informal talks” with police and noted that they encountered several allegations of physical mistreatment that took place during a period of unrecorded detention. Authorities occasionally held suspects incommunicado, in some cases for several weeks.
According to the Association of Ukrainian Human Rights Monitors on Law Enforcement, detainees were not always allowed prompt access to an attorney of their choice. Under the law the government must provide attorneys for indigent defendants. Compliance was inconsistent because of a shortage of defense attorneys or because attorneys, citing low government compensation, refused to defend indigent clients.
The law provides for bail, but many defendants could not pay the required amounts. Courts sometimes imposed travel restrictions as an alternative to pretrial confinement.
Arbitrary Arrest: The HRMMU and other human rights monitors reported a continued pattern of arbitrary detention by authorities.
In one case the HRMMU reported the SBU arbitrarily detained a man from August 7 to 12 without officially arresting him. On August 7, the national police detained the man at the Petropavlivka checkpoint in Donetsk Oblast. They took him to police stations in Petropavlivka and Sieverodonetsk, registered him as a visitor, interrogated him without a lawyer, forced him to take a polygraph test, and filmed him making a forced confession that he participated in armed groups. On August 8, two SBU officers took him to an unknown location and questioned him, again without a lawyer. The next morning they drove him to Sieverodonetsk, questioned and detained him in an apartment. On August 9, the man was taken to the prosecutor’s office where he met a free legal aid lawyer. The same day, a judge of the Sieverodonetsk City Court scheduled a court hearing for August 12 without ordering his detention. After the hearing, when his lawyer had left, SBU officers continued to detain him arbitrarily, holding him in a rented flat in Sieverodonetsk for two nights. On August 12, a Lysychansk city court ordered that he be detained for 60 days.
As of mid-August, the HRMMU had documented 11 cases of arbitrary detention in the context of conscription into the armed forces. For example, on May 28, eight staff members of the local military commissariat, which has no arrest authority, detained a man, placed him in a vehicle, and brought him to the district conscription office where he was detained for a night. The next morning, they brought him to the preassignment unit and threatened him with 20 years of imprisonment if he attempted to refuse military service, despite his being exempt. On May 30, they released the man after he posted his story on social media.
Arbitrary arrest was reportedly widespread in both the “DPR” and the “LPR.” The HRMMU raised particular concern over the concept of “preventive arrest” introduced in 2018 by Russia-led forces in the “DPR” and “LPR.” Under a preventive arrest, individuals may be detained for up to 30 days, with the possibility of extending detention to 60 days, based on allegations that a person was involved in crimes against the security of the “DPR” or “LPR.” During preventive arrests detainees were held incommunicado and denied access to lawyers and relatives.
Pretrial Detention: The HRMMU continued to report the Ukrainian security services’ persistent use of extended pretrial detention of defendants in conflict-related criminal cases as a means of pressure to force them to plead guilty. In March the HRMMU documented 34 cases in which defendants spent more than four years in pretrial custody. In September the Constitutional Court found unconstitutional an article of the criminal code that made pretrial detention compulsory in conflict-related criminal cases. The HRMMU viewed the ruling as a positive step and noted that following the decision, in some conflict-related cases, courts replaced pretrial detention with house arrest or allowed defendants to be released on bail.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
While the constitution provides for an independent judiciary, courts were inefficient and remained vulnerable to political pressure and corruption. Confidence in the judiciary remained low.
Despite efforts to reform the judiciary and the Prosecutor General’s Office, corruption among judges and prosecutors remained endemic. Civil society groups continued to complain about weak separation of powers between the executive and judicial branches of government. Some judges claimed that high-ranking politicians pressured them to decide cases in their favor, regardless of the merits. Some judges and prosecutors reportedly took bribes in exchange for legal determinations. Other factors impeded the right to a fair trial, such as lengthy court proceedings, particularly in administrative courts, inadequate funding and staffing, and the inability of courts to enforce rulings.
During a visit to the country from March 4 to 8, representatives of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) emphasized that attacks on lawyers were often associated with their defense of clients in politically sensitive criminal cases. The ICJ concluded such attacks undermined the ability of lawyers to adequately perform their duties and protect the rights of their clients. In one such case, on August 22, an unknown person shot lawyer Oleksandr Ivanov near a pretrial detention center in Kropyvnytsky. Ivanov died on the scene from his wounds. Police opened a murder investigation. The National Bar Association stated that it believed the killing was in response to Ivanov’s professional activities.
In March the HRMMU expressed concern about intimidation of judges, defendants, and defense lawyers by members of violent radical groups. The HRMMU noted three documented cases in which members of these groups disrupted court hearings by verbally abusing judges and defendants. In one case they beat a defendant in a conflict-related case outside the courtroom, but police did not stop the beating.
Trial Procedures
A single judge decides most cases, although two judges and three public assessors who have some legal training hear trials on charges carrying the maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The law provides for cross-examination of witnesses by both prosecutors and defense attorneys and for plea bargaining.
The law presumes defendants are innocent, and they cannot be legally compelled to testify or confess, although high conviction rates called into question the legal presumption of innocence. Defendants have the right to be informed promptly and in detail of the charges against them, with interpretation as needed; to a public trial without undue delay; to be present at their trial; to communicate privately with an attorney of their choice (or one provided at public expense); and to have adequate time and facilities to prepare a defense. The law also allows defendants to confront witnesses against them, to present witnesses and evidence, and to appeal.
Trials are open to the public, but some judges prohibited media from observing proceedings. While trials must start no later than three weeks after charges are filed, prosecutors seldom met this requirement. Human rights groups reported officials occasionally monitored meetings between defense attorneys and their clients.
The HRMMU documented violations of the right to a fair trial in criminal cases related to the Russia-led conflict in Donbas, notably the right to a trial without undue delay and the right to legal counsel. Authorities also failed to effectively investigate and prosecute perpetrators for interfering in investigations and manipulating court proceedings. The HRMMU reported persistent allegations that during pretrial investigation in conflict-related criminal cases, ammunition or other incriminating evidence was planted in suspects’ homes to strengthen weak cases.
Russia-led forces terminated Ukrainian court system functions on territories under their control in 2014. The “DPR” and “LPR” did not have an independent judiciary, and the right to a fair trial was systematically restricted. The HRMMU reported that in many cases individuals were not provided with any judicial review of their detention and were detained indefinitely without any charges or trial. In cases of suspected espionage or when individuals were suspected of having links to the Ukrainian government, closed-door trials by military tribunals were held. There were nearly no opportunities to appeal the verdicts of these tribunals.
Subsequent “investigations” and “trials” seemed to serve merely to create a veneer of legality to the “prosecution” of individuals believed to be associated with Ukrainian military or security forces. The HRMMU reported that de facto authorities generally impeded private lawyers from accessing clients and that court-appointed defense lawyers generally made no efforts to provide an effective defense and participated in efforts to coerce guilty pleas.
Political Prisoners and Detainees
There was one individual that some human rights groups considered to be subjected to politically motivated detention.
As of mid-September the trial of Zhytomyr journalist Vasyl Muravytsky continued. Muravytsky was charged in 2017 with state treason, infringement of territorial integrity, incitement of hatred, and support for terrorist organizations based on statements deemed pro-Russian. He could face up to 15 years in prison. Some domestic and international journalist unions called for his release, claiming the charges were politically motivated.
According to the SBU, as of mid-September Russia-led forces kept an estimated 227 hostages in Donbas (see section 1.g). A December 29 prisoner exchange affected this number, but the SBU had not issued a revised estimate as of year’s end.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies
The constitution and law provide for the right to seek redress for any decisions, actions, or omissions of national and local government officials that violate citizens’ human rights. An inefficient and corrupt judicial system limited the right of redress. Individuals may also file a collective legal challenge to legislation they believe may violate basic rights and freedoms. Individuals may appeal to the human rights ombudsman at any time and to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) after exhausting domestic legal remedies.
Property Restitution
The country endorsed the 2009 Terezin Declaration but has not passed any laws dealing with the restitution of private or communal property, although the latter has been dealt with partly through regulations and decrees. In recent years most successful cases of restitution have taken place as a result of tacit and behind-the-scenes lobbying on behalf of Jewish groups.
f. Arbitrary or Unlawful Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence
The constitution prohibits such actions, but there were reports authorities generally did not respect the prohibitions.
By law the SBU may not conduct surveillance or searches without a court-issued warrant. The SBU and law enforcement agencies, however, sometimes conducted searches without a proper warrant. In an emergency, authorities may initiate a search without prior court approval, but they must seek court approval immediately after the investigation begins. Citizens have the right to examine any dossier in the possession of the SBU that concerns them; they have the right to recover losses resulting from an investigation. There was no implementing legislation, and authorities generally did not respect these rights, and many citizens were not aware of their rights or that authorities had violated their privacy.
There were some reports the government had accessed private communications and monitored private movements without appropriate legal authority. For example, on September 20, the head of the SBI claimed that he found a listening device in his office. The SBI was investigating the case.
There were reports that the government improperly sought access to information about journalists’ sources and investigations (see section 2.a.).
g. Abuses in Internal Conflicts
The Russian government controlled the level of violence in eastern Ukraine, intensifying the conflict when it suited its political interests. Russia continued to arm, train, lead, and fight alongside local militants in two Russia-controlled proxies, the so-called Donetsk people’s republic (“DPR”) and the so-called Luhansk people’s republic (“LPR”). Russia-led forces throughout the conflict methodically obstructed and threatened international monitors, who did not have the access necessary to record systematically ceasefire violations or abuses committed by Russia-led forces.
International organizations and NGOs, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the HRMMU, issued periodic reports documenting abuses committed in the Donbas region. As of September the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) fielded 1,305 persons supporting a special monitoring mission, which issued daily reports on the situation and conditions in most major cities.
According to the HRMMU, since the start of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, more than three million residents have left areas of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts controlled by Russia-led forces. As of mid-September the Ministry of Social Policy had registered 1.4 million internally displaced persons (IDPs).
The HRMMU noted that hostilities continued to affect the lives of 3.9 million civilians residing in the conflict zone. Regular exchanges of fire across the line of contact exposed those residents to the constant threat of death or injury, while their property and critical civilian infrastructure continued to be damaged.
Killings: As of mid-June the HRMMU reported that since the start of the conflict, fighting had killed at least 13,000 persons in Ukraine, including civilians, government armed forces, and members of armed groups. The HRMMU reported that 3,331 of these were civilian deaths. This figure included the 298 passengers and crew on board Malaysian Airlines flight MH-17, shot down in 2014 over the Donbas region. In mid-August the HRMMU reported 18 civilian deaths since January 1.
The HRMMU noted the continued use of indirect and explosive weapons by both sides of the conflict remained the primary concern regarding protection of civilians, that significant numbers of civilians continued to reside in villages and towns in close proximity to the contact line, and that both government forces and Russia-led forces were present in areas where civilians resided. According to the HRMMU, on July 20, one woman was killed and three men, three women, and two girls were injured during the government shelling of armed-group-controlled Pervomaisk (Luhansk region). According to the HRMMU, on July 19, a man in Krasnohorivka in the government-controlled part of Donetsk Oblast died in a shelling by Russia-led forces of the “DPR.” The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reported the presence of military personnel and objects within or near populated areas on both sides of the line of contact.
The HRMMU also regularly noted concerns about the dangers to civilians from landmines, booby traps, and unexploded ordnance. According to the Ministry of Defense, 2,700 square miles of government-controlled territory and 3,500 square miles of territory controlled by Russia-led forces in Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts needed humanitarian demining. According to the government of Ukraine, as of mid-June, 977 civilians had been killed and 1,530 had been injured by mines and explosive ordinance since the start of the conflict.
According to the HRMMU, between February 15 and August 15, 18 civilians were killed in mine-related incidents and the handling of explosive remnants of war. Of these deaths, nine were in government territory, and nine were in territory controlled by armed groups. On July 25, a woman died after she stepped on a mine near the village of Zaitseve on territory controlled by the government. On February 22, two civilians died and three were wounded when a bus ran over a mine near the checkpoint Olenivka on territory controlled by Russia-led forces.
According to human rights groups, more than 1,000 bodies in government-controlled cemeteries and morgues, both military and civilian, remained unidentified, mostly from 2014.
Abductions: As of September more than 700 missing persons were registered with the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Ukrainian Red Cross as unaccounted for, approximately half of whom were civilians. According to the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group, 1,165 persons have gone missing in connection with the conflict in eastern Ukraine from April 2014 through June 2019.
There were reports of abductions on both sides of the line of contact. A report by the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) following a June 2018 visit stated: “There is almost total impunity for acts of enforced disappearances on both sides of the contact line, mainly due to a lack of interest and political will. In Kyiv as well as in Russia-controlled territory in Donbas, the WGEID perceived little interest in pursuing cases unless the perpetrator is identified as someone supporting the opposite side. Bringing to justice anyone from its own side appears to be perceived as ‘unpatriotic.’”
The HRMMU reported in mid-March that, as of February 15, the family of a man reportedly detained by the SBU in November 2018 had no information about the man’s whereabouts. According to the HRMMU, two men (allegedly SBU officers) wearing camouflage and masks, detained a Russian citizen in Kyiv and took him to an unknown location. After the man’s wife reported his disappearance, police opened a criminal investigation but closed it five days later. In December 2018 the prosecutor’s office instructed police to reopen the investigation. Also in December 2018, the man’s personal information appeared on the Myrotvorets website, which has reported links to the country’s security services and publishes the personally identifying information of purported enemies of the country.
According to the head of the SBU, Russia-led forces held 227 Ukrainian hostages in Donbas as of September. A December 29 prisoner exchange affected this number, but the SBU had not issued a revised estimate as of year’s end. Human rights groups reported that Russia-led forces routinely kidnapped persons for political purposes, to settle vendettas, or for ransom.
Civilians were most often detained by Russia-led forces at entry-exit checkpoints along the line of contact. As of mid-May, the HRMMU documented five cases in which individuals were detained while attempting to cross the line of contact. In such cases relatives could not obtain information about the whereabouts of the detained persons, particularly during the initial stage of detention. There were several cases in which individuals were held incommunicado for more than one month.
The HRMMU repeatedly expressed concern about the use of “preventive arrest” procedures used in the “LPR” and “DPR” since 2018, which it assessed as amounting to incommunicado detention and which “may constitute enforced disappearance” (see section 1.d.).
For example, on February 23, representatives of the “ministry of state security” of the “LPR” reportedly detained a man travelling to visit his friends in Stanytsia Luhanska. After a witness informed the victim’s mother about the incident, she turned to the “ministry of state security” to inquire about her son’s whereabouts; the ministry claimed to have no information about him. On March 19, the mother received information that her son had been detained by the “ministry of state security” under the “preventive arrest procedure,” which allows incommunicado detention for up to 60 days. On April 26, the victim was released after 62 days.
Physical Abuse, Punishment, and Torture: Both government and Russia-led forces reportedly abused and tortured civilians and soldiers in detention facilities, but human rights organizations consistently cited Russia-led forces for large-scale abuses. Observers noted that an atmosphere of impunity and absence of rule of law compounded the situation. Reported abuses included beatings, physical and psychological torture, mock executions, sexual violence, deprivation of food and water, refusal of medical care, and forced labor.
In government-controlled territory, the HRMMU continued to receive allegations that the SBU detained and abused individuals in both official and unofficial places of detention in order to obtain information and pressure suspects to confess or cooperate. The number of reported cases was considerably lower than in previous years. The HRMMU suspected such cases were underreported because victims often remained in detention or were afraid to report abuse due to fear of retaliation or lack of trust in the justice system.
For example, according to the HRMMU, on February 12, the SBI launched an investigation into torture allegations made by an Armenian national regarding abuse at the hands of SBU officers in December 2018. On March 15, two men who identified themselves as SBU officers reportedly forced the man into a car, purportedly to sign documents, and seized his passport, wallet, and phone. They took him to the border with Moldova, forced him to make a video statement that he was leaving the country voluntarily, made him walk over the border, and threatened to hurt his family if he returned. In mid-December 2018 armed SBU officers had reportedly entered the man’s house in Svitlodarsk, searched it without a warrant, seized electronics and documents, threatened him and his family with deportation, placed a bag over his head, and transported him to a basement location. There, the officers reportedly interrogated him, beat him for several 20- to 30-minute periods, and coerced him at gunpoint to make a filmed confession of espionage. He was then taken to an apartment in Kyiv, where he was again severely beaten for two days. The officers then took him to a hospital for treatment for his injuries, registering him under a fake name. Instead of hospitalization, as recommended by doctors, the SBU officers took him to another apartment and held him there for approximately two weeks. At one point he did not receive food for two days. In late December the officers finally released him, telling him to keep silent about his ordeal.
According to the HRMMU, the lack of effective investigation into previously documented cases of torture and physical abuse remained a concern.
There were reports that Russia-led forces committed numerous abuses, including torture, in the territories under their control. According to international organizations and NGOs, abuses included beatings, forced labor, psychological and physical torture, public humiliation, and sexual violence. The HRMMU reported that on March 3, a man argued with representatives of the “ministry of state security” of the “DPR” when crossing the line of contact in Olenivka by car. The incident started when several vehicles were allowed to cut the line. The man objected to this and was taken into a booth and abused verbally. When he resisted, armed men reportedly beat him until he was unconscious. When he regained consciousness, he realized he was handcuffed on the floor. The militants took him outside, handcuffed him to a fence, and threatened to kill him. He was released after signing documents he was not allowed to read.
As of late August, the Prosecutor General’s Office identified 3,500 individuals (1,700 civilians and 1,800 military personnel) who had been illegally incarcerated and tortured in the “DPR” and “LPR” since the start of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
International organizations, including the HRMMU, were refused access to places of deprivation of liberty in territory controlled by Russia-led forces and were therefore not able to assess fully conditions in the facilities.
A 2017 HRMMU special report on sexual and gender-based violence in the conflict, the most recent one available, noted that both sides committed these abuses, and that the majority of cases occurred in the context of detention. In these cases both men and women were subjected to sexual violence. Beatings and electric shock in the genital area, rape, threats of rape, forced nudity, and threats of rape against family members were used as a method of torture and mistreatment to punish, humiliate, or extract confessions. The HRMMU noted that women were vulnerable to sexual abuse at checkpoints along the contact line.
According to the HRMMU’s 2017 report, in the territory controlled by Russia-led forces, sexual violence was also used to compel individuals deprived of liberty to relinquish property or perform other actions demanded by the perpetrators, as an explicit condition for their safety and release. While the majority of these incidents dated back to 2014-2015, the HRMMU continued to receive testimonies indicating that such practice still occurred on both sides of the contact line and in Crimea.
There were reports that in territory controlled by Russia-led forces, conditions in detention centers were harsh and life threatening (see section 1.c.).
In areas controlled by Russia-led forces, the Justice for Peace in Donbas Coalition indicated that sexual violence was more prevalent in “unofficial” detention facilities, where in some cases women and men were not separated. The report stated that at least one out of every four detainees in these irregular prisons (both women and men) was a victim or witness of sexual violence. The reported forms of abuse included rape, threats of rape, threats of castration, intentional damage to genitalia, threats of sexual violence against family members, sexual harassment, forced nudity, coercion to watch sexual violence against others, forced prostitution, and humiliation.
Both sides employed land mines without fencing, signs, or other measures to prevent civilian casualties (see “Killings” above). Risks were particularly acute for persons living in towns and settlements near the contact line as well as for the approximately 35,000 persons who crossed the contact line daily.
Other Conflict-related Abuse: On June 19, during a televised press conference, the Netherlands’ chief public prosecutor announced the results of the activities of the Joint Investigation Group looking into the 2014 downing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 in the Donbas. The Prosecutor General’s Office issued indictments against three former Russian intelligence officers and one Ukrainian national. In 2018 the investigation concluded that the surface-to-air missile system used to shoot down the airliner over Ukraine, killing all 298 persons on board, came from the Russian military.
Russia-led forces in Donetsk Oblast banned Ukrainian government humanitarian aid and restricted aid from international humanitarian organizations. As a result prices for basic groceries were reportedly beyond the means of many persons remaining in Russia-controlled territory. Human rights groups also reported severe shortages of medicine, coal, and medical supplies in Russia-controlled territory. Russia-led forces continued to receive convoys of Russian “humanitarian aid,” which Ukrainian government officials believed contained weapons and supplies for Russia-led forces.
The HRMMU reported the presence of military personnel and objects within or near populated areas on both sides of the line of contact.