Calls Human Rights In Russia Worsening Since Invasion Of Ukraine, UN Expert: Detained War Critics Risk Of Death

Illustration of the United Nations. (Wikimedia Commons/Leif Jryptensen)

JAKARTA - The human rights situation in Russia has deteriorated significantly since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year, UN experts say, describing "systematic crackdowns" on civilians and calling for compensation.

The report made by Special Reporter Mariana Katzarova said Russian authorities had made arbitrary mass arrests of war critics, with those detained at risk of death due to "consistent use of torture and ill-treatment".

This is the first time the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) has been mandated to examine the track record of one of the "P5" members holding a permanent seat on the Security Council.

"(Experts) have documented recent legislative restrictions used to suppress civilians, punish human rights activists and others for their anti-war stance," the report concluded.

"The enforcement of laws and regulations that are often accompanied by violence has resulted in a systematic crackdown on civil society organizations that have closed civilian space and independent media," the report said.

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Moscow is known to have issued stricter laws to punish those with different opinions and are considered traitors.

The report said about 20,000 people had been detained between February 2022 and June 2023 for participating in the protests. In addition, more than 600 criminal charges were opened for so-called 'anti-war' activities.

UN expert Katzarova, a former journalist from Bulgaria who led investigations during the two Chechen wars for Amnesty International, also referred to Russia's efforts to hinder its mandate, saying the move showed "lack of political will to uphold its human rights obligations".

Moscow told Katzarova it did not recognize its work and said the work would automatically be ignored, the report said.

The debate over the findings of this report is expected to take place in the HRC session which will take place in Geneva on Thursday. European Union countries will seek to update Katzarova's mandate. More than a dozen non-governmental organizations have written letters to diplomats in Geneva asking them to support the update, according to a letter.

Separately, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he could not comment for now because he had not seen the report.

Earlier, Moscow called criticism of its domestic human rights record baseless, denying targeting civilians in Ukraine, where it said it was carrying out "special military operations" to destroy military infrastructure.