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Ukraine: UN unveils a disturbing number of violations of human rights by the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) and the police

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Ukraine: UN unveils a disturbing number of violations of human rights by the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) and the police

70% of cases of violations of human rights in Ukraine are committed by the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) and the police. Impunity for violations of human rights undermines efforts to establish the rule of lawin the country and causes distrust of the authorities. According to Kate Gilmore, Deputy High Commissioner of the UN for Human Rights, this situation also promotes violence and reduces the prospects of a possible truce.

During a speech devoted to an annex to the report on the situation of human rights in Ukraine, Mrs. Gilmore noted that in 70% of cases, violations were reflected in the torture and mistreatment of prisoners.

Furthermore, most cases of human rights violations in Ukraine are committed by agents of the SBU and the police.

According to information provided by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Ukrainian authorities allowed to secretly imprison some citizens for long periods. As noted by former detainees, in Ukraine, pretrial detention can last up to nine!

Also according to OHCHR, the judicial hearings are sometimes accompanied by pressure on judges.

It should be noted that on May 25, the UN Subcommittee for the Prevention of Torture had to suspend its visit to Ukraine after being denied access to several sites in the country where detainees could be persons deprived of liberty by the security Service of Ukraine (SBU). Later in August, the UN mission returned to the country to try to finish its investigations blocked by the authorities.

 

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