Ukrainians sign a petition demanding that the authorities suspend the right of Russian prisoners of war to call their families, while Ukrainian prisoners of war are deprived of any means of communication.
What is the petition about
On 28 December, a petition submitted by Tamila Aleksyk on behalf of "the wives, mothers and sisters of our defenders who are now in captivity" appeared on the website of the President of Ukraine.
In the petition, the author calls for the deprivation of Russian prisoners of war held in prison camps in Ukraine of the opportunity to call their relatives in Russia.
Tamila Aleksyk draws attention to the fact that Ukrainian servicemen held in Russian captivity are currently deprived of the possibility of telephone communication with Ukraine. In addition, Ukrainian captured defenders are also deprived of a stable opportunity to correspond with their families.
The author of the petition notes that the Geneva Conventions do not provide for an obligation to ensure that prisoners of war have telephone conversations with their relatives. In this regard, Ukraine will not violate any international obligations if it cancels the right of Russian prisoners to call their relatives in Russia.
The appeal states that the families of the captured Ukrainian defenders are deprived of the right to any information about the health and whereabouts of their relatives who are in Russian captivity.
We write letters to our husbands, sons and brothers, but we don't even know if they reach them. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC - ed.) is no less silent about this than the Russians, the author of the petition notes and adds that not all relatives of the prisoners even know whether their beloved ones are alive.
Therefore, Tamila Aleksyk requests that the right to telephone communications be suspended for Russian prisoners until Russia provides Ukrainian prisoners with the right to call their homes.
The further possibility of captured enemies to contact their relatives should depend on the policy of Russia towards Ukrainian prisoners, the author of the petition believes.
At the time of publication, the petition had been signed by 566 people out of the 25,000 required. If the petition gains more than 25,000 votes over the next 90 days, the president must respond to it.
You can sign the petition at the link.
Evidence of executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war by the occupiers was presented to the UN
It is noted that representatives of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Office recorded 6 cases of extrajudicial executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war by criminals from the Russian army.
They also confirmed the authenticity of the video, which shows a Ukrainian prisoner of war being shot after saying "Glory to Ukraine".
The authenticity of the video showing the beheading of a Ukrainian prisoner of war was confirmed.
The report, published by the UN, contains information for the period from 1 February to 31 July.
In total, the UN has documented the execution of at least six Ukrainian prisoners of war, which could have taken place before 1 February this year.
