09/04/2022 13:47

The racist military is killing and torturing members of the press

New information about the circumstances of the death of Lithuanian director Mantas Kvedaravičius in Mariupol has appeared.

He was taken prisoner by racists, who later shot him.  The occupiers threw the director's body out into the street.  His wife, risking her life, took his body out of the blockaded city and brought it to Lithuania.  The real cause of the director's death has not been announced before for her safety.

Journalist, writer, volunteer, member of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine and the National Union of Writers of Ukraine Yevhen Bal died because of the actions of the russian occupiers.

On March 18, the 78-year-old man was abducted by the russian military at his home in Melekino near Mariupol.

The reason for the detention was allegedly "compromising" photos with the Ukrainian military.  He was released in three days with severe beatings.

On April 2, Eugene Ball passed away.  His death was the result of torture by a veteran journalist by the Russian occupiers.

The killings and torture of journalists are a gross violation of the Hague Convention and Declaration, the Geneva Convention for the Protection of Victims of War and its Additional Protocols, and the Convention on the Laws and Customs of Land Warfare, which provide security guarantees for journalists.

I appeal to the UN Commission for Investigation Human Rights Violations during Russia's Military Invasion of Ukraine and the expert mission set up by the OSCE participating States under the Moscow Mechanism to take into account these war crimes and crimes against humanity and human rights in Ukraine.