Torture, censorship, corruption: US State Department publishes report on human rights violations in Ukraine

The U.S. State Department has published a report on human rights violations in Ukraine. Among the violations listed are disappearances, torture and restrictions on internet freedom.

The report enumerates the following human rights problems (referring in this case to territories under government control):

• Forced disappearances;
• Torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and punishment;
• Harsh and life-threatening prison conditions;
• Arbitrary arrest or detention;
• Serious problems with judicial independence;
• Restrictions on freedom of expression, including for media representatives, including violence or threats of violence against journalists;
• Unjustified arrests or persecution of journalists, as well as censorship;
• Serious restrictions on internet freedom;
• Significant interference with the freedom of peaceful assembly and association;
• Restrictions on freedom of movement;
• Serious government corruption;
• Widespread gender-based violence;
• Systematic restrictions on workers’ associations;
• Existence of the worst forms of child labor.

The report also states that “the government often failed to take adequate steps to identify and punish officials who may have committed abuses.”