Statement of the Committee of Salvation of Ukraine

Recently published Report of the Office of United Nations high commissioner for human rights confirms information which the Committee of Salvation of Ukraine (CSU) receives regularly from different parts of Ukraine, from Ukrainian human rights defenders, lawyers of political detainees and former political prisoners

We declare once again that during last two years in Ukraine large-scale campaign of political repressions, harassment and intimidation of a real opposition was held. It has come to the killings of those who are trying to bring the truth about the gross violations of human rights and democratic freedoms by the regime. We associate ourselves with the UN report, which noted the collapse of the rule of law in Ukraine, has confirmed participation of foreigners in destroyer battalions, acting under the control of the Government of Ukraine, who participate in hostilities in the Southeast of the country. Most of them are from Europe.

In report in particular it is said that «individuals detained by Ukrainian authorities have been tortured and ill-treated, and continue to face systematic violations of their due process and fair trial rights, there is lack of independence and impartiality of the judiciary and legal profession into harsh relief. Ukrainian authorities exclude and restrict access to fundamental freedoms, such as freedom of religion or belief, freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom of opinion and expression throughout Ukraine. The Government of Ukraine uses antiterrorist legislation to put a restraint upon activity of those people, who express the views that differ from official position of government bodies».

The UN report draws a special attention to the fact that «dozens of individuals were subjected to summary executions and killings, or died of torture and ill-treatment in custody. Hundreds of people remain missing – either in secret detention or, most likely, killed – with their bodies pending recovery or identification».

CSU many times has drawn attention of western governments, which patronize Kiev criminal regime, and western media to facts of destruction in the crematoria the bodies of people who were tortured and killed during armed conflict in the Southeast of Ukraine.

The report simultaneously underlines that «arbitrary deprivation of liberty has reached an unprecedented scale in the territories controlled by the volunteer battalions, with a broad network of unrecognized detention facilities. Thousands of people have gone through these places of deprivation of liberty, subjected to inhuman conditions of detention combined with the absence of access by external observers, torture and ill-treatment, which the authorities systematically deny».

In contrary to Minsk Agreements, and this fact did not go unnoticed by the authors of the report, «Ukrainian armed forces continue to lay landmines, including anti-personnel mines, despite Ukraine’s obligations as a State party to the 1997

Mine Ban Treaty, …Ukrainian soldiers force the owners or residents to leave their homes and then loot them».

It is stressed that «judicial decisions have also recast medical care as impermissible support to the armed group-controlled areas».

The UN report clearly points out that all the atrocities and crimes are committed by members of the volunteer battalions, together with the Security Service of Ukraine. But they deny these facts and refuse to give access to the representatives of international organizations to secret detention prisons and torture centers.

The report does not contain any new information about systematic violations of the human rights in Ukraine after coup d’état, which would have been unknown to CSU or not unveiled by it. All these data were repeatedly brought to the attention of Western embassies, the media. In particular, the flagrant violations of human rights have been enumerated in an open letter to German Chancellor Angela Merkel written by Larisa Shesler – Head of the Union of political prisoners and political refugees of Ukraine. CSU has revealed the list of Ukrainian officials involved in the cynical murder of Ukrainian lawyer Grabowskiy. We outlined the facts how the punitive system of Ukraine pursues all dissident political opponents of the regime on the standard charges of «separatism», «undermining territorial integrity», «terrorism».

But none of the CSU messages received any response. Most Western media ignore facts of crimes committed by Kiev regime.

The UN report tries to smooth out an extremely negative view about cited cases of Kiev regime human rights violations and also tries to balance the disparate-scale crimes against humanity committed by Kiev regime and single violations committed by the authorities of self-proclaimed republics.

However, in general, the UN report could not but mention that in the XXI century in the centre of Europe the power holds the regime for which the murder, unlawful imprisonment, torture and abuse of political opponents are a daily practice.

By now not one of western leaders, including the guarantors of the Minsk Agreements – Francois Hollande and Angela Merkel, did not officially respond to the UN report. It looks very strange, as signed Ukraine-EU Association Agreement obliges to strictly respect democratic rights and freedoms in Ukraine.

It will not be possible to silence these facts, as we are talking about the crimes against humanity committed by Ukrainian regime. The Committee of Salvation of Ukraine on the basis of information it has collected will initiate an address to the European Parliament and to human rights organizations. We will seek for economic sanctions against Ukrainian authorities, for international investigation and their further prosecution.