Torture, arbitrary arrests, censorship: U.S. State Department reported human rights violations in Ukraine

The U.S. State Department has published its 2024 report on the human rights situation in Ukraine, noting major problems in this area.

The document appeared on the State Department’s website.

“Significant human rights issues involving Ukrainian government officials include credible reports of torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment; arbitrary arrests or detentions; serious restrictions on freedom of speech and the press, including violence or threats of violence against journalists, unjustified arrests or prosecutions of journalists, and censorship; systematic restrictions on workers’ freedom of association; and the significant presence of any of the worst forms of child labor,” the report states.

It notes that some of these problems arose as a result of martial law, but authorities “often did not take adequate steps to identify and punish officials who committed human rights abuses.”

International and nongovernmental organizations issued periodic reports “documenting abuses committed by both Russia and Ukraine during the war.”

“The authorities at times initiated and condoned harassment of journalists,” and “there were reports that government officials threatened journalists, as well as reports of attacks on journalists who reported on corruption.”

At the same time, the television news marathon “provided an unprecedented level of government control over prime-time TV news.”

The report says that “with some exceptions, residents of territories controlled by the Ukrainian government could publicly and privately criticize the government and discuss matters of public interest without fear of official reprisals.”

The document also mentions sanctions imposed by Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) against media outlets.

“Ukrainian authorities restricted content and punished individuals and media for criticizing the government’s actions or for expressing pro-Russian views, including through financial sanctions, blocking of websites, and closure of TV channels,” the report says.

It also describes cases of torture of detainees to force confessions.

“The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) continued to receive reports of arbitrary arrests. For example, in its December report, OHCHR noted five cases in which Ukrainian authorities allegedly arbitrarily detained men who attempted to exercise their right to refuse military service on grounds of conscience. According to OHCHR, the authorities held the men for between two and four days and subjected them to ill-treatment or torture, including beatings and suffocation. In addition, the United Nations continues to report on cases of arbitrary detention that occurred in previous years. In February, the UN special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment published a report containing interviews with detainees in Ukraine in 2023. In some cases, detainees reported that the SBU arrested them without a warrant, held them incommunicado, beat them, and forced them to sign documents,” the State Department said.

The report also mentions the death in prison of U.S. citizen Gonzalo Lira.

“In 2023, Gonzalo Lira, a Chilean-American filmmaker, was arrested and detained on charges of ‘justifying Russia’s military actions in Ukraine,’ which is prohibited under the Criminal Code. While in custody, his health deteriorated. On January 12, he died of an illness that may have resulted from neglect or improper treatment,” the report states.

In July, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O’Flaherty criticized the Ukrainian authorities for imposing sanctions against their own citizens.

A month earlier, a UN report on human rights violations in Ukraine was released. It described torture, executions of prisoners, cruelty by military recruitment officers, and the seizure of churches.