A/HRC/43/CRP.7 A. Arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment of detainees in Government-controlled territory 59. Due to the restrictions imposed on OHCHR operations in territory controlled by the self-proclaimed ‘republics’ since 2018,43 as of 15 February 2020, OHCHR was unable to interview any of the 124 detainees released by the Government. However, OHCHR had previously documented the cases of 75 of them while they were detained in Governmentcontrolled territory.44 60. The 75 cases showed a consistent pattern of arbitrary detention or procedural violations at the initial stages of detention (reported by 54 individuals, 72 per cent of the total) with the SBU being mainly responsible. Twenty-eight detainees reported being kept in unofficial places of detention incommunicado, such as SBU premises or unknown locations, for some period after their apprehension (usually several days), before being transferred to official places of detention. In at least 17 cases, formal registration of their detention was delayed for a period of one to four days from the day of actual apprehension. 61. Several interviewees told OHCHR they were denied access to legal counsel prior to giving a “confession” and were coerced into signing incriminating documents. In at least 32 cases, access to legal counsel was provided only after the first interrogation, and in 11 of these 32 cases, the interrogation was followed by a confession before a detainee saw a lawyer. 62. Fifty-seven of the 75 individuals reported having been subjected to torture or illtreatment, mainly perpetrated by SBU officials to extract confessions or information and/or to punish or intimidate. Methods of torture and ill-treatment included beatings, asphyxiation (dry and wet), electric shocks, sexual violence (such as forced nudity and violence to the genitals), positional torture, water, food, sleep or toilet deprivation, isolation, mock executions, prolonged use of handcuffs, hooding, and threats of further torture, sexual violence, death or harm to family. B. Arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment of detainees in the selfproclaimed ‘republics’ 63. OHCHR interviewed 56 detainees released by the self-proclaimed ‘republics’ (45 men, including one military, and 11 women). The most common ‘charges’ against them were ‘espionage’, ‘incitement of hatred’, ‘storage of explosives’, ‘terrorist act’, ‘assistance to terrorist activity’, and ‘public calls for extremist activities’ in ‘Donetsk people’s republic’, and ‘creation of a criminal organisation’, ‘illegal acquisition and storage of weapons and ammunition’, ‘state treason’, and ‘illegal acquisition of information comprising state secrets’ in ‘Luhansk people’s republic’. 64. Though individual testimonies varied, OHCHR identified and further confirmed 45 a consistent pattern of arbitrary detention, often amounting to enforced disappearance, torture and ill-treatment of conflict-related detainees in both self-proclaimed ‘republics’. OHCHR found that torture and ill-treatment of detainees was systematic during the initial stage of detention (which could last up to a year), with the risk for detainees to be subjected to torture and ill-treatment considerably decreasing after the ‘confession’ and especially after completion of ‘pre-trial investigations’. 65. Individuals interviewed by OHCHR had usually been apprehended by armed men wearing no insignia and in balaclavas who did not identify themselves. In most cases, they were not told why they were being detained. Upon apprehension or while being transported to their first place of detention, many detainees were blindfolded and/or handcuffed. Some were beaten or threatened with violence. The first place of detention was usually either the 43 44 45 16 See para. 15 above. Some of these cases were described in past OHCHR reports. See footnote 1 of Annex I to this report. For more information on previous OHCHR findings on the treatment of conflict-related detainees in the self-proclaimed ‘republics’ in 2014-2017, see OHCHR, Report on the human rights situation in Ukraine, 16 November 2017 to 15 February 2018, paras. 67-72, and paras. 17-38 of related Annex II.