Ukrainian Survivor Files Landmark Torture Lawsuit in Argentina
16 April 2024 18:48
A Ukrainian citizen, whose name has not been disclosed, has filed a lawsuit with the Argentine Federal Court in connection with the torture he was subjected to on Ukrainian territory occupied by Russia. "I was lucky to survive," the man said.
On 14 April, "The Reckoning Project", an initiative of Ukrainian and international journalists and lawyers documenting war crimes, along with the wounded Ukrainian citizen present in Buenos Aires, filed a criminal lawsuit in the Federal Court of Argentina.
As part of this lawsuit, the victim, Mr. M. (name and surname withheld for security reasons), is asking the Federal Court to investigate the torture inflicted on him by Russian officials and their collaborators who tortured him themselves.
As emphasized by "Ukrainian Truth", the Ukrainian's lawsuit includes an account of the use of electric shock torture during his detention by the Russians in one of the Ukrainian cities they occupied.
According to Reuters, the lawsuit states that during the torture, electrical wires were attached to the man's ear and finger, which ran electric current through his body. The complaint indicates that he and others were held in cells measuring about 10 square meters, with 12-20 individuals each.
What does the lawsuit look like?
In the lawsuit, the man from Ukraine accuses one person by name and surname, two individuals identified based on so-called call signs, and other anonymous individuals of applying electric shocks and illegally detaining as forms of torture during the middle to the end of 2022.
"I was detained at work. Then they tortured me. They used electric shocks. It was incredibly painful, so I lost consciousness. I was lucky to survive. Many people are still there," the Ukrainian told Reuters.
