International
The World Organization Against Torture denounces possible crimes against humanity in Russia against Ukrainian civilians
Arbitrary arrests, torture, enforced disappearances, sexual violence and other abuses by Russian forces against civilians in Ukrainian territories can constitute crimes against humanity, denounces a report published by the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT).
The documentation of these practices between February and October 2022 in more than 20 detention centers by the OMCT together with the Ukrainian NGOs Media Initiative for Human Rights and the ZMINA Human Rights Center shows that “they are not isolated incidents” and are part of a “deliberate policy of torture.”
“These crimes reach the threshold of torture and persecution of a large political group, so they can constitute crimes against humanity,” the OMCT advisor for Europe and Central Asia, Maryia Kvitsinskaya, said in a statement.
The investigation presented on Thursday is based on interviews with victims and witnesses of 63 cases – 38 of torture and 25 of other ill-treatment – in the Ukrainian regions of Kiev, Chernigov, Zaporiyia, Donetsk, Kharkov and Kherson.
The OMCT denounces that after the control of some territories of these regions in 2022, the Russian army and special services began to persecute a large group of civilians who were loyal to Ukraine, opposed the occupation and had a negative attitude towards Russian troops, politicians or ideology.
The document speaks in this sense of “common signals” that were sought by the Russian military during the inspection procedures to identify Ukrainian citizens as “suspispious.”
They included, for example, the consumption of Ukrainian news or music, contact with relatives or acquaintances who served the country’s troops, donations in favor of the Army or photos with the national flag of Ukraine, the United States or the European Union, among others.
Those responsible for the report also warn that, as the invasion progressed, the Russian Army began to interpret these signs more broadly, targeting an increasing group of civilians.
This meant that, in addition to the people who were against the Russian occupation, many others were wrongly accused, representing 18 of the 38 cases documented in the report (48%).
In addition, among the tortured people interviewed there were also individuals from groups identified as vulnerable, including three women, five elderly people or a person with serious chronic diseases.
According to the report, all documented detention conditions violated the rules of international humanitarian law and human rights, with 28 of the 38 cases (73%) in which the conditions were “so deficient that they were equivalent to torture.”
Most of the victims were confined in cells in overcrowded conditions, in which there was hardly any room to sleep, often without natural light and located in very cold facilities in winter and very hot in summer.
In addition, in all the documented cases that are described as torture in this report, the victims were simultaneously subjected to multiple forms of physical and psychological abuse.
The use of sexual violence was also reported in seven of the 38 documented cases (18%), ranging from stabbing to the use of paralyzing pistols in the genital area to forced nudity and threats, castration or rape.
“Many interviewees described this experience as the worst of their lives, recounting the constant cries of horror of other detainees,” the head of the Documentation department of the Ukrainian NGO Human Rights Center ZMINA, Yelyzaveta Sokurenko, added in the statement.
The report demands in its conclusions section that the Russian authorities take immediate measures to put an end to these human rights violations.
They also ask for the intervention of Ukraine, the International Criminal Court and the international community to investigate the cases of torture and reported ill-treatment.
Finally, it is requested that those responsible for these abuses be held accountable, that support services be provided to victims and that their access to justice be guaranteed through international legal mechanisms.
International
Erin brings strong winds and storm surge despite weakening offshore
Hurricane Erin weakened to a Category 2 storm on Tuesday but continues to pose a threat to parts of the U.S. East Coast with potentially dangerous flooding, according to meteorologists.
Although the hurricane’s eye is expected to remain offshore, experts are concerned about Erin’s size, as strong winds extend hundreds of kilometers beyond the storm’s center.
In its 18:00 GMT bulletin, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) lifted tropical storm warnings for the Bahamasand Turks and Caicos Islands, but kept them in effect for parts of North Carolina.
Erin was located several hundred kilometers southeast of North Carolina and was moving northwestward.
“This means there is a risk of potentially life-threatening flooding of 60 to 120 centimeters above ground level,” said NHC Director Michael Brennan.
He also warned of the possibility of destructive waves, combined with storm surge, that could cause severe damage to beaches and coastal areas, making roads impassable.
International
Three U.S. Warships deploy near Venezuela to combat drug trafficking
Three U.S. naval vessels are moving toward the coasts of Venezuela, according to international media reports on Tuesday, after White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt confirmed that President Donald Trump is ready to combat and curb international drug trafficking.
Reports indicate that the ships will reach Venezuelan waters within the next 36 hours as part of a recent U.S. deployment aimed at countering international narcotics operations.
The announcement coincides with Leavitt’s statement that Trump is prepared to “use the full extent of his power” to halt drug flows into the United States. The naval deployment involves approximately 4,000 military personnel.
“The President has been clear and consistent. He is ready to use every element of U.S. power to prevent drugs from flooding our country and to bring those responsible to justice. The Maduro regime is not the legitimate government of Venezuela—it is a narco-terror cartel,” the spokesperson said during a press conference.
International
Cuban authorities free salvadoran convicted in 1997 hotel bombing
Salvadoran national Otto René Rodríguez Llerena was released after serving a 30-year prison sentence for his involvement in a terrorist attack at a hotel in Cuba in 1997, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported.
During his trial, Rodríguez Llerena admitted to placing an explosive device at the Meliá Cohiba Hotel under the orders of anti-Castro exile leaders. He was arrested the following year when he returned to Havana with another load of explosives that failed to detonate.
“The Cuban government reiterates its commitment to combating terrorism, respecting human rights, and the need for the international community to hold accountable those who promote such acts,” the statement read.
He was released on August 15 and is the second Salvadoran to complete his sentence. In December of last year, another Salvadoran, Ernesto Cruz León, was released after planting bombs at tourist centers, one of which killed an Italian tourist identified as Fabio Di Celmo.
A third Salvadoran, Francisco Chávez Abarca, also received a 30-year sentence from Cuban courts in 2010 after being extradited from Venezuela through Interpol for actions against Cuba.
Rodríguez Llerena had requested conditional release in 2016, arguing that his actions had not caused any direct fatalities, but no further information was released about his situation until now.
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