KYIV: Russian military is forcibly relocating Ukrainian civilians, including those fleeing hostilities, to areas under its control, see human rights Said this in a report released on Thursday.
The non-governmental organization said, “Forced transfer is a serious violation of the laws of war, which constitutes war crimes and a potential crime against humanity.”
HRW interviewed 54 people who had been to Russia or knew people who had done so. Some of those Ukrainians were trying to leave Russia after Moscow’s forces invaded Ukraine in late February.
Many of those forcibly relocated were fleeing the city of Mariupol, a port that faced a devastating siege and heavy shelling before being seized by Russian troops.
Others were from the Kharkiv region of eastern Ukraine.
“Of course, we could have used the opportunity to move to Ukraine,” a woman relocated from Mariupol told HRW.
“But we had no choice, no possibility to go” into the Ukraine-occupied territories, she said.
“Ukrainians should have no choice but to go to Russia,” said Belkis Vile, senior crisis and conflict researcher at Human Rights Watch and a co-author of the report.
According to the report, along the way, several people were subjected to mandatory security checks called “filtration”, which included biometric data and fingerprints, body searches and personal belongings.
“No one should be forced to go through a degrading screening process to access security,” Wiley said.
A Mariupol man told HRW that, after being detained by Russian troops, he and dozens of Mariupol residents were kept in a village school house in filthy conditions for two weeks before being filtered.
“We felt like hostages,” he told HRW.
According to Human Rights Watch, the filtering process – both within its scope and in a systemic manner targeting Ukrainian citizens – is “punitive and abusive”.
According to the NGO, it “has no legal basis” and is a “clear violation of the right to privacy”.
HRW sent a summary of its findings and questions to the Russian authorities on 5 July but received no response.
“The sending of people into the Russian-occupied territories and without consent must stop immediately,” Wiley said.
The non-governmental organization said, “Forced transfer is a serious violation of the laws of war, which constitutes war crimes and a potential crime against humanity.”
HRW interviewed 54 people who had been to Russia or knew people who had done so. Some of those Ukrainians were trying to leave Russia after Moscow’s forces invaded Ukraine in late February.
Many of those forcibly relocated were fleeing the city of Mariupol, a port that faced a devastating siege and heavy shelling before being seized by Russian troops.
Others were from the Kharkiv region of eastern Ukraine.
“Of course, we could have used the opportunity to move to Ukraine,” a woman relocated from Mariupol told HRW.
“But we had no choice, no possibility to go” into the Ukraine-occupied territories, she said.
“Ukrainians should have no choice but to go to Russia,” said Belkis Vile, senior crisis and conflict researcher at Human Rights Watch and a co-author of the report.
According to the report, along the way, several people were subjected to mandatory security checks called “filtration”, which included biometric data and fingerprints, body searches and personal belongings.
“No one should be forced to go through a degrading screening process to access security,” Wiley said.
A Mariupol man told HRW that, after being detained by Russian troops, he and dozens of Mariupol residents were kept in a village school house in filthy conditions for two weeks before being filtered.
“We felt like hostages,” he told HRW.
According to Human Rights Watch, the filtering process – both within its scope and in a systemic manner targeting Ukrainian citizens – is “punitive and abusive”.
According to the NGO, it “has no legal basis” and is a “clear violation of the right to privacy”.
HRW sent a summary of its findings and questions to the Russian authorities on 5 July but received no response.
“The sending of people into the Russian-occupied territories and without consent must stop immediately,” Wiley said.