[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Feb. 12



RUSSIA/UKRAINE:

Kremlin-backed militants threaten death sentences for prisoners


A spokesperson for the so-called Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) has claimed 
that the militants are not holding any civilians or anybody else illegally. All 
those in custody, Darya Morozova asserts, are "under investigation" and could 
be sentenced to death.

The remarks came on the eve of the 1st anniversary of the Minsk II agreement, 
and less than 2 weeks after 60-year-old religious specialist Ihor Kozlovsky and 
volunteer Marina Cherenkova were both seized by the militants. Prominent DPR 
militant Alexander Khodokovsky is reported to have asserted that Mr. Kozlovsky, 
who is a much-respected academic, could have been involved in "destabilizing 
the situation" and had "multiple contacts with various organizations in Ukraine 
engaged in destructive activities here."

According to the Minsk agreement of February 12, 2015, all persons illegally 
held must be exchanged, on an "all for all" basis. A recent planned exchange 
fell through, according to the Ukrainian side, because the militants suddenly 
put forward new and impossible demands. The militants, in turn, blame Ukraine. 
Yurii Tandit from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) center trying to 
organize exchanges speaks of 130 people on its list of Ukrainians held hostage. 
The figure for people registered as missing is much higher - over 600.

Ms. Morozova, who calls herself the "DPR human rights ombudsperson," spoke to 
Yuliya Polukhina for an article published in the Russian newspaper Novaya 
Gazeta on February 8. Her words have been widely discussed and commented on in 
Ukraine, so the lack of any retraction from Ms. Morozova or other militants 
suggests they do reflect the position currently taken.

Ms. Morozova was asked to comment on the 30-year "sentence" handed down to 
Yevhen Chudnetsov, a Ukrainian soldier from the Azov regiment who was captured 
in February 2015. The militants claim he surrendered. Novaya Gazeta writes that 
relatives of Mr. Chudnetsov, who is from the Donbas area, missed the "trial" 
because it began half an hour earlier than scheduled. The "prosecutor" had 
demanded the death penalty, so an appeal can in theory be lodged by either the 
defendant or the prosecution. This seems highly theoretical in the Chudnetsov 
case, since from the outset he has not had a lawyer.

There is disturbingly little information about this so-called trial or what 
indeed Mr. Chudnetsov was charged with. There is, however, a video that was 
widely shown on all Russian propaganda channels. In it, Mr. Chudnetsov looks as 
if he has been beaten and has had about half his teeth knocked out. The torture 
he was almost certainly subjected to is not mentioned. Instead, it is claimed 
that he surrendered and then at a press conference he oluntarily provides what 
is purported to be information about the foreigners supposedly instructing Azov 
- from Georgia, Sweden and the U.S. - or fighting as mercenaries, and the 
foreign weapons purportedly used.

Ms. Morozova is asked by Novaya Gazeta if people like Mr. Chudnetsov could be 
part of the list of people to be exchanged. She replies that, for the moment, 
that is not possible, and that the DPR is working on the same principle as the 
Ukrainian authorities. She claims that Ukrainian authorities have 30 people 
sentenced to terms ranging from 15 years to life and are in no hurry to pardon 
them. They are not being handed over, she claims, so the militants "try them 
[their prisoners] within the framework of our legislation. We do not in 
principle have prisoners of war, and the people who are in our custody are all 
facing charges. Procedural matters are under way, trials, and they will soon be 
convicted."

The interviewer then asks Mr. Morozova: "You mean all of those captured as 
prisoners of war can be tried?" She answers: "Quite right."

Ms. Morozova chillingly goes on to claim the DPR is holding no more than 30 
people (not the 133 cited by the SBU), and that there are no civilian hostages. 
"We have only prisoners of war who were detained in battle," she claims, and 
says that they have proof these detainees killed people and were responsible 
for the deaths of civilians. She asserts that most of those still being held 
were seized near Ilovaisk, and claims that some are accused of rape, murder and 
torture.

Many Ukrainian soldiers died near Ilovaisk, after the militants' promise of 
safe passage proved to be a treacherous lie. Neither then, nor on other 
occasions, was it only soldiers who were taken prisoner and tortured, as the 
experience of journalist Yevhen Vorobyov demonstrated.

Her list of prisoners for exchange from the militants' side, she says, 
comprises 1,490 names. She asserts that the DPR knows definitely that these 
people are in detention in government-controlled territory, facing criminal 
charges. The SBU, meanwhile, says that it is aware of only 465 people.

Ms. Morozova, in fact, calls 500 from the almost 1,500-strong list "political 
prisoners" and claims they are in detention either for involvement in the 
so-called referendum of May 11, 2014, or because they spoke out in support of 
the self-proclaimed republics.

Asked about the prosecution's demand for the death penalty in Mr. Chudnetsov's 
case, Mr. Morozova confirms that yes, according to the "DPR Criminal Code," the 
death penalty can be used, and may well be. The DPR introduced its own 
"criminal code" back in August 2014, with the death penalty for particularly 
grave crimes. In a 2nd resolution passed by the DPR "Council of Ministers" on 
August 17, 2014, military courts and a system of military justice were 
introduced. More about these so-called military courts was revealed in November 
of that year with the list of capital offenses including insubordination, state 
treason, spying and desertion, as well as looting, robbery, etc.

Former Russian military intelligence officer and militant leader Igor Girkin in 
January confirmed extrajudicial executions, although in fact, his senior aide 
Igor Druz had confirmed this to the BBC back in August 2014. The main 
difference was that Mr. Girkin admitted only to killing "looters," while Mr. 
Druz was entirely open, saying that the militants had killed a number of people 
"to prevent chaos."

Now the militants are claiming that they are not holding any hostages or others 
illegally, and say that any people in their custody are under criminal 
investigation.

Like Ihor Kozlovsky, one presumes. Or people like Yevhen Chudnetsov, 
"sentenced" to 30 years without a lawyer in a "trial" his family missed because 
it happened half an hour ahead of schedule.

(source: Halya Coynash, a journalist, is a member of the Kharkiv Human Rights 
Protection Group in Ukraine----The Ukrainian Weekly)