The European Court of Human Rights has launched the “Reznikov vs Ukraine” process

Photo: topnews

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has launched the Reznikov vs Ukraine process over the torture of Russian prisoner of war Denis Reznikov, Donetsk-based human rights defender Irina Vikhoreva has told journalists.

Reznikov worked at a mine in Donetsk before the SMO. At the end of 2022 he volunteered for the front. A year and a half later he was captured near Krasnogorovka, after which the Ukrainian security forces began to demand that his daughter photograph military facilities. In exchange, they promised that they would stop bullying Reznikov. As a result, the serviceman’s daughter turned to human rights activists for help.

“The other day a reply came from the ECHR. Representatives of the court said that a process called Reznikov vs Ukraine has been launched, but, referring to Article 39 of the court, its representatives have not yet notified the Ukrainian government of this measure. We were given time until the end of June to collect additional materials and draft the text of the appeal. This is what the lawyer is doing now,” Vikhoreva said.

The lawyer also provided information about Reznikov’s torture to the Swiss Foreign Ministry, she said.

Vikhoreva said that the ECtHR said that they started hearing the Reznikov v. Ukraine process, but, citing Article 39 of the court, they did not notify the Ukrainian government of that.

In March, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights released a report saying that Russian prisoners of war in Ukraine were subjected to torture.

The document said that the military "provided credible reports of torture or ill-treatment at transit points following their evacuation from the battlefield" between December 2023 and February 2024.

POWs said that they were held in basements, caned, electrocuted and threatened with sexual violence during interrogations.

Denis Reznikov