International human rights law firm and foundation, Global Rights Compliance, released new information last week concerning detention centres in Kherson. The evidence revealed widespread torture and sexual crimes by Russian guards at the centres set up across the city during its occupation last year.
Global Rights Compliance’s ‘Mobile Justice Team’ – a team of expert lawyers and investigators from around the world – has been supporting Ukraine’s Office of the Prosecutor General (OPG) to investigate and prosecute war crimes since shortly after Russia’s illegal invasion in February 2022. As parts of the country have been liberated, the Mobile Justice Team (MJT) has been assisting the OPG with the collection, documentation and analysis of evidence of war crimes in these formerly occupied areas.
When the city of Kherson in south-eastern Ukraine was liberated in November 2022, the MJT accompanied the very first missions to the city, assisting authorities with collecting information from victims of potential war crimes in the city during its occupation. 35 detention centres have since been discovered across in Kherson. It has become clear that both physical and mental abuse was commonplace at these centres. In recent months, closer analysis by the MJT of a pool of the data collected in Kherson has revealed that 43% of detainees were subjected to various forms of torture. In its most recent announcement, Global Rights Compliance released details of this torture and other abuse to the media.
This recent announcement was supported by The Communication Group plc with a dedicated media campaign designed to bring international attention to the atrocities committed at the detention centres and also Global Rights Compliance’s role in supporting the OPG with its investigations. Broadcast, online and print media coverage was secured for the announcement, including with some of the world’s most used news media platforms: Reuters, CNN, Al Jazeera, BBC World Service, The Washington Post, New York Times, Telegraph, POLITICO, INSIDER, Mail Online, Express, Mirror, The i and others.
