On September 2, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine presented a thematic report on human rights violations in the administration of justice in criminal cases related to the armed conflict in Eastern Ukraine.
According to the study, violations in such cases can be seen on both sides. Violations of the rights to liberty and security of person, access to legal assistance are widespread in the government controlled territory. Cases get processed for an unreasonably long time. At the same time the experts noticed violations for the right to an independent and impartial court and an effective remedy. The Mission documented violations of the ban on forcible extraction of confession by Ukrainian law enforcement and security agencies in conflict-related criminal proceedings.
The Mission notes that these violations can be observed at all stages of criminal proceedings. At the same time, they note that the elimination of most violations does not require amendments to Ukrainian legislation, since they are mainly the result of non-compliance with existing guarantees.
In the territory controlled by the “DPR” and “LPR”, neither the “legislation” nor the practice of its implementation ensure the observance of the basic elements of the right to a fair trial and the related human rights of persons “accused” of “crimes” related to the conflict. The Mission notes that the bodies processing "cases" related to the conflict are neither independent nor impartial. “Proceedings” take place behind closed doors, without access to a self-elected defense lawyer, often accompanied by incommunicado detention, torture and ill-treatment.
The Mission also mentioned in the report that the practice of “preventive detention” and “administrative arrest” that exists in the “DPR” and “LPR” is equated with incommunicado detention and contributes to the flourishing of torture and ill-treatment.
The study is based on the monitoring of criminal proceedings and processes related to the conflict, which the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has been carrying out since April 2014.
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