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Ukraine War: Apparently more than 1,000 prisoners brought to Russia from Mariupol

2022-06-08T08:17:41.519Z


Concern for Mariupol prisoners of war is growing. According to Russian information, around a thousand of them were transported across the border – for “investigations”. Among them should not only be Ukrainians.


Enlarge image

Russian soldiers guard prisoners from the Mariupol steel mill (on May 20)

Photo: Alexander Ermochenko / REUTERS

For weeks, the fate of the fighters and civilians in the besieged Azov steelworks had repeatedly made headlines.

The huge area with numerous tunnels and bunkers was the last retreat for Ukrainian units in the besieged port of Mariupol.

At the end of May, more than 2,400 Ukrainian fighters surrendered.

More than 1000 of them have now been brought to Russia.

The Russian law enforcement authorities are currently dealing with them, the Russian state agency TASS reported on Wednesday night, citing security circles.

Among them could be more than 100 foreign "mercenaries."

More captured Ukrainian soldiers would soon be transported from the south-eastern Ukrainian port to Russia.

The Ukrainian leadership fears that the prisoners of war will be tortured and murdered.

Russia claims that there are a particularly large number of neo-Nazis among the soldiers.

Moscow repeatedly uses the Azov regiment, founded and dominated by right-wing extremists, which provided many fighters in Mariupol, as justification for its war of aggression.

The regiment is part of the Ukrainian National Guard - not the army.

In addition, international experts classify the claim that the entire Ukrainian armed forces are infiltrated by "neo-Nazis" as an untenable pretext for an invasion in violation of international law.

Russian troops had already begun the siege of Mariupol shortly after invading Ukraine at the end of February.

Pictures of a destroyed maternity clinic went around the world.

For weeks, civilians held out in cellars, and there was even a lack of drinking water in the embattled city.

Only after many failed attempts were civilians evacuated from the city.

Most recently, the Russian attacks were concentrated on the steelworks, in whose extensive cellars the last defenders of the city were holed up.

Demand for the death penalty in Moscow

Russia has been waging a war of aggression against its Ukrainian neighbor for more than three months.

With Mariupol, the Russian forces now control the entire coast of the Sea of ​​Azov.

Until recently, the Ukrainian leadership had spoken of a "rescue operation" instead of a capitulation in the Azov plant and held out the prospect of an imminent exchange of prisoners with Russia.

However, it is unlikely that Russia will agree to such a swap unless forced to do so, for example after a military defeat in Donbass.

Reactions from Russia suggest that the Kremlin could make an example of the defenders of Mariupol, particularly members of the Azov regiment.

Shortly after the arrest at the end of May, calls for court trials and even the death penalty were raised in Moscow.

The Geneva Convention regulates the treatment of prisoners

In particular, the Third Geneva Convention of 1949 deals with the treatment of prisoners of war.

This status guarantees the data subjects protection and guarantees them certain rights.

According to the agreement, prisoner of war status applies to members of the armed forces, fighters of certain militias or volunteer troops who have been "captured by the enemy" during a conflict.

These criteria apply to the fighters from the Azov Steelworks.

According to the Geneva Convention, prisoners must:

  • "to be treated humanely at all times."

  • It is also forbidden to intentionally kill, torture, or conduct medical or scientific experiments on prisoners.

  • Among other things, the countries must provide prisoners of war with medical care and house them under humane conditions.

    They must also be held in designated POW camps (rather than prisons).

  • When a conflict ends, they should be sent home quickly.

  • It also stipulates that prisoners of war must be protected from “violence or intimidation, as well as from insults and public curiosity”.

jok/dpa

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2022-06-08

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