U.S. Department of State points out human rights violations in Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine

This is stated in the 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor at the U.S. Department of State.

“In the Russia-instigated and -fueled conflict in the Donbas region, Russia-led forces reportedly engaged in unlawful or arbitrary killings of civilians, including extrajudicial killings; forced disappearances and abductions; torture and cases of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment,” reads the report’s section dedicated to Ukraine.

Other significant human rights issues included: harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest or detention; political prisoners or detainees; serious problems with the independence of the judiciary; serious restrictions on free expression, the press, and the internet; substantial interference with the freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association; severe restrictions of religious freedom; serious restrictions on freedom of movement across the line of contact in eastern Ukraine; restrictions on political participation, including unelected governments and elections that were not genuine, free, or fair; and unduly restricted humanitarian aid.

As for Crimea, the report points out the ongoing forced disappearances and abductions; torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment of detainees to extract confessions and punish persons resisting the occupation. At the same time, a number of human rights violations resembling those mentioned in the section on the occupied eastern areas of Ukraine are indicated.

As a reminder, the annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices cover internationally recognized individual, civil, political, and worker rights, as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international agreements.

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