Ukraine War: Dead journalist was tortured in Russian imprisonment

The Ukrainian journalist Wiktorija Roschtschyna, who died in Russian captivity, has been tortured according to media reports. Roschtschyna’s body was handed over to Ukraine in February with signs of torture and missing organs, several media, including the “Spiegel”, the “Washington Post” and the “Ukrainska Prawda”, reported on Tuesday, citing Ukrainian investigators.

The 27-year-old journalist disappeared in 2023 when she researched alleged Russian torture prisons in the southeastern tubian region of Saporischschja occupied by Russia. In April 2024, Russia confirmed her arrest, and the news of her death followed in September.

During an autopsy of Roschyna’s body, doctors found “numerous signs of torture and abuse”, the media quoted the public prosecutor in their research published on Tuesday. This included broken ribs, neck injuries and alleged traces of electric shocks on their feet, the head of the department for the investigation of war crimes at the Ukrainian Attorney General, Juri Belussow said.

In addition, according to investigative circles, the body was missing several organs, including the eyes, the larynx and parts of the brain. With their removal, torture traces may be covered up.

Kyiv called for the international community for a reaction to the report. The problem of civilians who were deprived of and captured by Russia requires an “immediate and determined reaction,” said Foreign Ministry Spokesman Georgiy Tychy.

Thousands of Ukrainian civilians are recorded in Russian prisons or in occupied Ukrainian areas. According to NGOs and media reports, many of the prisoners are tortured.