Dozens of Ukrainian officials, journalists and activists have been arbitrarily detained by the Russian forces that invaded Ukraine or they are missing, the UN denounced this Friday, estimating that some cases resemble “hostage takings”.
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In little more than a month since the beginning of the offensive ordered by Vladimir Putin, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has collected information on the arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance of 22 local Ukrainian officials13 of whom were later released.
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It appears that the targets are pro-Ukrainian militants or are perceived as pro-Ukrainian by Russian forces.”
Perhaps the most famous case is that of the mayor of the city of Melitopol, in southeastern Ukraine, Ivan Fedorov, who, according to the Ukrainian authorities, was kidnapped by Russian forces and detained for several days, before being released.
“This seems to be a ‘modus operandi’ in the Russian-occupied areas,” said Matilda Bogner, OHCHR representative in Ukraine, in a video conference.
“In some cases, it appears to be a form of hostage-taking,” he said, adding that relatives were not informed of where the prisoners were being taken. He also highlighted the arrest of 15 journalists and activists “who strongly opposed the invasion” in various parts of the country.
He noted that UN staff were trying to verify reports about five journalists and three activists who may have been released, but “the fate of the others remains unknown.”
The Dead in the Mariupol Theater
We wanted to believe until the end that everyone was saved
Some 300 refugees in the theater of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol died in the Russian bombardment on March 16the local authorities have assured this Friday, which are based on the testimonies of the survivors.
“There is information from eyewitnesses that around 300 people died in the Mariupol Drama Theater as a result of the bombing by a Russian plane,” the City Council of the city, surrounded by Russian forces, announced on its Telegram channel.
“But the words of those inside the building at the time of the terrorist attack say otherwise,” the message continues.
Some 130 people were rescued alive from the bomb shelter built under the port city’s theater, the Ukrainian parliament’s human rights commissioner, Liudmyla Denisova, reported last week.
At least 300 civilians killed in the Russian bombing of the theater in Mariupol (Ukraine) on March 16, according to the mayor of the city… the first video filmed from inside and minutes after the attack is known pic.twitter.com/iVvR1xpvCw
— Cesar Moreno (@CesarMorenoH) March 25, 2022
According to the Ukrainian authorities, between 1,000 and 2,000 people used to take refuge in the basement of the theater, but they have not been able to determine the number of people who were inside at the time of the bombing. Therefore, the number of those who can still be found buried under the rubble is unknown.
Russian troops already control the eastern part of the city, which has been devastated by the fighting and in which some 100,000 inhabitants remain surrounded with hardly any water, electricity, and basic supplies such as food or medicine.
The Russian Defense Ministry blamed the destruction of the theater on Ukraine’s far-right Azov battalion, which it accused of blowing up the theater as a provocation, while Moscow said it bombed the building because fighters were hiding there.INTERNATIONAL WRITING
*With information from EFE and AFP
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