Russia has returned the body of a Ukrainian journalist who was captured in East East Ukraine And died later in police custody, a Ukrainian legislator said on Thursday.
Victoria RoshchynaDied at the age of 27, disappeared in August 2023 during a declaration trip to the party held by Moscow Zaporizhzhia region After having traveled via Russian territory.
She remained disappeared until April 2024, when her father received a letter from the Ministry of Defense from Moscow saying that she was detained in Russian detention.
The circumstances of his arrest were not made public and Russia did not explain his death, reported for the first time in October 2024.
Yan Dobronosov / Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
“The body of Victoria Roshchyna is in Ukraine. The journalist’s body was returned as part of an exchange at the end of February,” the Ukrainian legislator Yaroslav Yurchyshyn said on Thursday.
The officials chose not to reveal that his body had been returned until they were absolutely certain that it was her, said Yurchyshyn.
“Given the torture and state of the body, Roshchyna’s family did not ask for one, but several DNA exams,” he added.
A joint investigation by borderless journalists and a Ukrainian press media Slidstva noted that she had been arrested in Energodar in southern Ukraine, then was held for several weeks in the city of Melitopol held by Russia.
From there, she was transferred to a prison in the Russian port city in Taganrog. The investigation said that she had stopped eating in prison and had “knife injuries” on her body, according to her cell companion.
Russia generally does not comment on the treatment of individual prisoners, but says it is investigating to torture in its criminal system.
Thousands of Ukrainians opposed to the reign of Moscow have been detained in occupied territories since the invasion of Russia in 2022, many of which are faced with torture in the hands of the security forces, according to rights groups. Last year, BBC Russia said thousands of Ukrainian civilians, including journalists, in Russian police custody, were detained without accusation or access to a legal advisor.
Roshchyna has worked as a freelancer for various independent media, including Ukrainska Pravda, and had collaborated with the Ukrainian media service funded by the United States Radio Free Europe.
In March 2022, Roshchina was detained by Russian forces for 10 days while statement In the south-eastern Ukraine, according to the committee to protect journalists.
In 2022, she received the courage in journalism Award by the International Women’s Media Foundation For its relations in eastern Ukraine.
“The death of Victoria is not only the loss of a remarkable woman, but of an intrepid witness of history”, the group said in a press release After his death. “Whatever his cause of death, we can say with certainty that her life has been taken because she dared to tell the truth. We hope that his death will not be in vain: the international community must put pressure on Russia to target journalists and silence the freedom of the press. ”
The committee to protect journalists also condemned Moscow for the death of Roshchina.
“The responsibility of his death lies in the Russian authorities, who owned him for daring to report the truth about the Russian-Ukraine war,” said the CPJ Central and Central Asian Coordinator statement. “The Ukrainian and Russian authorities must do everything in their power to investigate Roshchina’s death.”