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Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
MPs appeal to Zelensky with request to award title of Hero of Ukraine to journalist Roshchyna
Ukrainian lawmakers on May 14 backed an appeal to award journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna, who was killed in Russian captivity, the title of Hero of Ukraine, Suspilne reported. A total of 246 MPs voted in favor of awarding Roshchyna the title. The appeal now has to be signed by President Volodymyr Zelensky. Roshchyna, 27, disappeared in August 2023 while reporting from Ukraine's Russian-occupied territories. Moscow admitted she was in Russian detention the following year. Her body was returned to Ukraine in late February and falsely labeled as that of an "unidentified man." A forensic examination was later able to identify the body as Roshchyna's through DNA testing. Ukrainian officials confirmed Roshchyna's death on Oct. 10, 2024, but said that the circumstances were still under investigation. Russia claims Roshchyna died on Sept. 19, 2024. A recent large-scale media investigation revealed that Roshchyna's body had been returned with missing organs, possibly an attempt to obscure signs of suffocation or strangulation. The Media Initiative for Human Rights, a Ukrainian NGO, reported that Roshchyna had been held in at least two notorious Russian prisons: Penal Colony 77 in Berdiansk in occupied Ukraine and Detention Center 2 in Russia's Taganrog. Both facilities are known for the use of torture against prisoners. Roshchyna was also detained in March 2022 for 10 days by Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) officers while leaving Berdiansk in the direction of Mariupol. As a condition of her release, she was forced to record a video saying Russian forces had saved her life. Read also: What we know about Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna who died in Russian captivity We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
The Independent
30-04-2025
- The Independent
Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna brutally tortured in Russian custody, new investigation reveals
Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna was brutally tortured in Russian captivity, given electric shocks, and had some of her internal organs removed, a joint media investigation has revealed. Numerous signs of torture and ill-treatment were found on the journalist's body returned by Russia, said Yurii Belousov, head of the war crimes department at the Prosecutor General's Office. The experts, who were a part of the investigation, also saw signs of electric shock torture on Roshchyna. An independent examination of Roshchyna's body in Ukraine showed that her brain, eyes, and parts of trachea had been removed, the French newsroom Forbidden Stories investigation said. Roshchyna, 27, was confirmed dead on 19 September last year by Russian authorities after she was imprisoned in a Russian detention facility dubbed 'hell on Earth'. She went missing in August 2023 while reporting from Russia-occupied Zaporizhzhia region. Her father said he received a call from Roshchyna for the last time on 3 August but they lost contact with her shortly after. Ukraine confirmed her death on 10 October last year, stating she died while being transported from a detention facility in southern Russia's Taganrog to Moscow. The Taganrog facility is described as 'hell on Earth' for captive Ukrainians, with beatings routinely reported by former prisoners, said Tetiana Katrychenko, executive director at the Media Initiative for Human Rights, a Ukrainian rights group tracking Roshchyna's case. Her human remains, tagged with the number 757, were handed over by Russia in late February this year with Russian documents labelling her as an 'unidentified male'. However, a forensic examination showed the body was that of a woman. A DNA testing also identified the remains as of Roshchyna's with 99 per cent certainty. More than 40 journalists from 13 international media outlets participated in the latest investigation, who conducted more than 50 interviews with former prisoners, ex-prison guards, and human rights activists. Investigators have said the body showed evidence of an autopsy conducted in Russia before it was returned to Ukraine. The organs may have been deliberately removed from Roshchyna's body to hide signs of suffocation or strangulation, according to an international forensic pathologist. The investigators also found a bruise on Roshchyna's neck, along with a suspected fracture of the hyoid bone, which is a common indicator of strangulation. Her body was marked with the Russian abbreviation 'SPAS', which is indicative of 'total failure of the arteries of the heart', according to the journalists. This may have been used by Russian authorities to fabricate the actual cause of Roshchyna's death, they said. The condition of the body has made it impossible to find the exact cause of her death. Last year, Ukrainian officials and Roshchyna's ex-colleagues told The Independent they were concerned the delay in returning her body by Russia could help in the cover-up of the cause of her death. Petro Yatsenko, spokesperson for the Ukrainian coordination centre for the treatment of prisoners of war, said that in the absence of any formal statement by Russia detailing the reason, it is understood that something happened to the young journalist while she was being transferred from one pre-detention facility to another in Russia. 'Taganrog facility is well known for its horrible torture and inhumane behaviour towards the Ukrainian prisoners of war,' he told The Independent last year. Forbidden Stories said none of the Russian officials solicited by the consortium – the Kremlin, the Federal Security Service (FSB), and the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN), as well as several Taganrog higher-ups – responded to their requests for comment.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ukraine brings back body of journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna tortured in Russian captivity, official says
The body of Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna, who died after torture in Russian captivity, was brought back to Ukraine in late February, Deputy Interior Minister Leonid Tymchenko said in an interview with published on April 24. "She was identified through DNA testing," Tymchenko said. Roshchyna, 27, disappeared in August 2023 while reporting from Ukraine's Russian-occupied territories, with Moscow admitting her detention the following year. Ukrainian officials confirmed Roshchyna's death on Oct. 10, 2024, but said that the circumstances were still under investigation. Russia did not hand over her body for about five months. According to Russia, Roshchyna died on Sept. 19, 2024. The Media Initiative for Human Rights, a Ukrainian NGO, reported that Roshchyna had been held in at least two notorious Russian prisons: the penal colony n. 77 in Berdiansk in occupied Ukraine and the detention center n. 2 in Russia's Taganrog. Both facilities are known for the use of torture against prisoners. Roshchyna was tortured with electric shocks while in Russian captivity, Ukrainian investigative journalism outlet reported in early March, citing an unnamed witness in the Taganrog detention center. There were also cuts on Roshchyna's arms after interrogations, the witness said. The journalist lost weight and weighed up to 30 kilograms, according to the source. Previously, in March 2022, Roshchyna was detained for 10 days by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) officers while leaving Berdiansk in the direction of Mariupol. As a condition of her release, she was forced to record a video saying Russian forces had saved her life. Although Roshchyna's body is said to have been returned in late February, Ukrainian journalists said in March that her body had not yet been retrieved at the time. Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, a lawmaker and chair of the parliamentary committee on freedom of speech, said on April 24 that the body's return was not announced for so long due to uncertainty about the identity. "Given the torture and the condition of her body, Roshchyna's family requested not one, but several DNA examinations," Yurchyshyn wrote on Facebook. "As far as I know, the examinations were carried out not only in Ukraine but also abroad to ensure that it was Viktoriia." Read also: Journalist Viktoria Roshchyna receives posthumous human rights award We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
