The NGO"Association of Relatives of Political Prisoners of the Kremlin" hasbeen operating since 2017, focusing on protecting individuals illegallydeprived of personal freedom for political reasons. The large-scale armedaggression of the Russian Federation and the occupation of significantterritories of Ukraine have led to a new wave of enforced disappearances andarbitrary detentions. Since 2022, the Association, as part of the coalition ofpublic organizations "Ukraine. 5 AM," has joined in documenting andconducting in-depth interviews with victims and witnesses of internationalcrimes committed by Russian military personnel in the occupied territories ofUkraine.
Our organization's documenters workon obtaining testimonies from individuals who have witnessed crimes of the RussianFederation, suffered from illegal deprivation of liberty, or were held againsttheir will by the occupying authorities.
Since 2022,we have interviewed 362 witnesses of enforced disappearances, arbitrarydetentions, and crimes against the civilian population, including the shellingof civilian infrastructure, appropriation of private property by occupiers, andillegal deprivation of liberty. As of the end of September 2024, informationhas been uncovered about 221 civilians who were arbitrarily detained byrepresentatives of the Russian Federation or groups controlled by the aggressorcountry, of which 17 individuals were identified during the processing oftestimonies in September 2024.
All the details about our September war crime documentation results are in attached PDF file below.
Our experts are currently documenting war crimes with the support of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee - we are greatful to the organization for helping us to continue this important work.
