A/HRC/44/21 security of person, international human rights law requires that no one must be deprived of liberty except on such grounds, and in accordance with such procedures, as are established by law.14 13. According to the information made available to OHCHR, violations involving torture and other ill-treatment by law enforcement agencies in Crimea, particularly the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, were especially common immediately after a person’s arrest, during periods of incommunicado detention in unofficial places of detention. OHCHR documented five cases in which law enforcement agencies and the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation allegedly subjected Crimean residents to torture and ill-treatment. In four of the cases, the victims were individuals suspected of possession of firearms, espionage, subversive activities or terrorism.15 14. In four cases documented by OHCHR, Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation and law enforcement officers reportedly used beatings, electric shocks and suffocation to force victims to incriminate themselves, cooperate with law enforcement or testify against others.16 15. In all the cases documented by OHCHR in which victims made credible complaints of torture or ill-treatment to the courts and law enforcement authorities in Crimea, no perpetrator has been held accountable. Alleged victims faced difficulties obtaining evidence to support their claims. According to information received by OHCHR, medical personnel of penitentiary institutions were often reluctant to document injuries sustained by victims prior to their admission to these institutions, which is inconsistent with their professional duties to treat and act in the best medical interests of patients, for whom they have a duty of care. When presented with complaints of torture in court, judges allegedly either ignored them or ordered investigations, which, in practice, were carried out in a pro forma fashion and did not result in the identification of suspects or prosecution of perpetrators. 17 16. According to information made available to OHCHR, torture and ill-treatment were frequently preceded by arbitrary arrests. Victims complained to OHCHR of unjustified force being applied during their arrest, use of sacks as blindfolds, and a failure by the arresting officer to state the reasons for the arrest. Occasionally, in order to legitimize arbitrary deprivation of liberty, judges appeared to have accepted without question administrative charges against victims, finding them guilty of offences such as using obscene language in public, and to have ordered their administrative detention. Reportedly, this practice allowed the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation to deprive victims of liberty without bringing formal criminal charges. C. Rights of detainees 17. OHCHR has received reports that detainees in Crimea face grossly inadequate conditions of detention in overcrowded cells, a lack of proper medical care, have limited contact with the outside world and risk being transferred far away from family members to facilities located in the Russian Federation. According to these reports, the detainees generally lack access to an effective legal remedy to address their conditions of detention and complaints about human rights violations. 18. On 7 September 2019, the simultaneous release of two groups of 35 detainees took place between Ukraine and the Russian Federation.18 Of these individuals, 29 were citizens of Ukraine who had originally been arrested and detained in Crimea, including 24 14 15 16 17 18 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, art. 9; and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 9 (1). Four citizens of Ukraine (3 men and 1 woman) were arrested in Crimea under these charges during the reporting period. In total, as at 31 December 2019, 17 citizens of Ukraine (15 men and 2 women) were detained in Crimea on charges of State treason, espionage or storage of explosives. See also OHCHR, “Report on the human rights situation in Ukraine: 16 August to 15 November 2019”, para. 99. Ibid., para. 96. Ibid., paras. 90–99. 5