A video of mockery of a prisoner of war in Ukrainian camouflage appeared in one of the Russian Telegram channels. Two other Russian-speaking soldiers castrated the prisoner with a clerical knife.
The Russians have several Telegram channels where they publish photos and videos of killed or captured Ukrainian soldiers. On July 28, the specified video appeared on one of them.
It is difficult to identify the scene. It shows two soldiers, speaking to each other in unaccented Russian, abusing a prisoner of war in Ukrainian camouflage with yellow and blue patches and tied hands.
Also nearby is a car with a capital letter Z on the hood — a symbol of Russian equipment in the occupied territories.
One of those who taunted the captive had what looked like a cowboy hat. Twitter users found a Russian soldier wearing the exact same hat. He was spotted on some videos of propagandists from occupied Severodonetsk. In addition, the Russian soldier from Severodonetsk has the same bracelet as the one who mocked the Ukrainian prisoner.
"Babel" transferred the video to the Department of Supervision in Criminal Proceedings Regarding Crimes Committed in the Conditions of Armed Conflict, the Office of the Prosecutor General.
Human rights activists emphasize that cutting off organs is the most obvious example of torture, which is always condemned by the world community and prohibited by the Geneva Convention. Therefore, in this case it is obvious that it is a war crime.
"There are no excuses for torture. It is forbidden to use them as repression, for the sake of revenge, obtaining information, etc. The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court calls torture a war crime, clarifying that the purpose of inflicting pain or suffering on the victim is also important for this crime," explained Dmytro Koval, an expert in international law from the NGO Truth Hounds.
He emphasizes that almost all countries of the world have undertaken to investigate such crimes. Therefore, it can be considered that torture is such a crime that it is almost impossible to hide from punishment.
"The video, which was circulated on the Internet, indisputably documents a case of torture. The perpetrator faces punishment for committing a war crime. As well as his commanders, if they do not take appropriate measures to bring the executor to justice," added Koval.