The UN has stated that it is “very concerned” about Russian-backed authorities’ plans to hold trials in Mariupol for Ukrainian soldiers who have been captured.
UN ‘very concerned’ over planned trials of captured Ukrainian POWs in Mariupol
The UN has stated that it is “very concerned” about Russian-backed authorities’ plans to hold trials in Mariupol for Ukrainian soldiers who have been captured, stating that such a procedure may constitute a war crime in and of itself. According to the UN rights office’s Ravina Shamdasani, pro-Russian officials appear to be putting up metal cages in a Mariupol hall as part of plans to set up what they were calling an “international tribunal.”
According to The Guardian, Shamdasani stated, “We are very concerned about the manner in which this is being done. There are pictures in the media of cages being built in Mariupol’s philharmonic hall, really massive cages and apparently the idea is to restrain the prisoners. This is not acceptable, this is humiliating.”
Russia is committing a war crime if it willfully denies a prisoner of war their right to a fair trial, Shamdasani noted. She also stated that Ukrainian PoWs were entitled to protection under the Geneva conventions. According to information provided by Ukrainian military intelligence last week, on the nation’s independence day, Russian forces planned to hold captive Ukrainian soldiers in iron cages during a “show trial” in Mariupol.
Ukrainian POWs will be on display in cages in Mariupol’s philharmonic hall
According to reports, the fighters, who were apprehended while defending the once-besieged Azovstal steel plant, will be on display in cages in Mariupol’s philharmonic hall. At the awaited “show trial” of the prisoners of war, captured Ukrainian combatants could be paraded on stage in cages from a public prison in Mariupol.
To give the Russians the appearance of success after months of failures in the eastern Donbas region, the trial of the Azov prisoners could begin as soon as August 24, Ukraine’s independence day, according to Ukrainian officials. The possibility of public executions, which Russian forces are allegedly planning to carry out in order to demoralise Ukrainians, is increased by the temporary holding cells and the proposed open trial.
The self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic’s leader, Denis Pushilin, recently reaffirmed that the proceedings would take place before the summer’s end. During a months-long siege of the southern port city, Moscow detained over 2,500 fighters who were holed up in Mariupol Azovstal steel works.
