Russia tortured some Ukrainian victims to death - head of UN special commission

Reuters reported this, according to Ukrinform.

Erik Møse told the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva his team had "collected further evidence indicating that the use of torture by Russian armed forces in areas under their control has been widespread and systematic".

"In some cases, torture was inflicted with such brutality that it caused the death of the victim," he said.

The commission has previously said that violations committed by Russian forces in Ukraine, including the use of torture, may constitute crimes against humanity.

Moscow was given an opportunity to respond to the allegations at the council hearing but no Russian representative attended. 

As reported, in March last year, the President of the UN Human Rights Council, Federico Villegas, announced the creation of a commission to investigate war crimes and other abuses committed during Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The commission consists of three people -Erik Møse  from Norway (chairman), Jasminka Džumhur from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Pablo de Greiff from Colombia.