A/HRC/43/CRP.7 Fifty-seven of these individuals had earlier reported having been subjected to torture or illtreatment, including in some cases sexual violence, perpetrated mainly by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). OHCHR is also concerned that ad hoc arrangements of the Government to enable the release of detainees who had not been sentenced by the time of the release may jeopardize their due process rights and fair trial guarantees, as well as undermining the right to justice of victims and their relatives. 8. Human rights violations within the administration of justice in conflict-related criminal cases continued. Impunity also remained pervasive, notably in cases related to the conflict, the violent deaths and killings at Maidan and in Odesa on 2 May 2014, and attacks on human rights defenders, activists and media workers. By contrast, National Police apprehended three suspects in the 2016 killing of journalist Pavel Sheremet. 9. OHCHR welcomes the adoption of revisions to the Electoral Code which will facilitate voting by IDPs and economic migrants in the upcoming local elections. This will require the Central Electoral Commission to adopt a procedure to manage requests made by people who wish to change their voting address. 10. Civic space was restricted by violent attacks and other incidents targeting civil society activists, media workers, and individuals perceived as belonging to minority groups, with nine incidents documented during the reporting period. Despite the risk of repercussions, in territory controlled by the self-proclaimed ‘republics’, social media remains the only platform available to express critical views. More positively, journalists Stanislav Aseyev and Oleh Halaziuk were released from detention in Donetsk, as a part of the simultaneous release on 29 December 2019. 11. Law enforcement agencies, in general, successfully policed assemblies. However, as described in previous reports, in a number of documented cases, they failed to respond adequately to attacks by extreme right-wing groups and their affiliates, such as when journalists were attacked after attending a hearing in the Sheremet case. 12. Despite the conclusions of the Venice Commission, which echoed OHCHR’s concerns regarding the State Language Law, and the legal deadline of 16 January 2020, the Cabinet of Ministers and Parliament have not yet drafted legislation on the realisation of rights of national minorities and indigenous people. 13. In the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, and the city of Sevastopol, temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation6 (hereinafter Crimea), the tenth conscription campaign drafted approximately 3,000 men into the armed forces of the Russian Federation, in violation of international humanitarian law.7 Criminal prosecution was used as a means of pressure and punishment for draft evasion. In further violation of its obligations under international humanitarian law,8 the Russian Federation deported or forcibly transferred at least 186 individuals considered foreigners under Russian law, including 107 Ukrainian citizens whom the Russian Federation considered did not have residency rights in Crimea. 14. During the reporting period, OHCHR provided the Government of Ukraine and other stakeholders with technical cooperation and capacity-building, such as trainings for members of the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), the Civil-Military Coordination Unit of the Ministry of Defence (CIMIC) and other law enforcement agencies, as well as technical expertise on human rights issues, including during the human rights week in Parliament. 15. While OHCHR enjoyed unimpeded access to places of detention in territory controlled by the Government, OHCHR operations in territory controlled by the selfproclaimed ‘republics’ have been severely restricted since June 2018 despite ongoing discussions.The continued denial of access to detention facilities, despite repeated requests, prevents OHCHR from monitoring the treatment of detainees and detention conditions. This is particularly concerning given the widespread nature of credible allegations of torture and illtreatment. OHCHR therefore reiterates its call for independent international observers, including OHCHR, to have unimpeded, confidential access to places of detention and detainees. 6 7 8 4 General Assembly resolution 73/263, Situation of human rights in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, Ukraine, A/RES/73/263 (22 December 2018), para. 11. Art. 51, Geneva Convention IV. Art. 49, Geneva Convention IV.