Ukraine suspects Russia of torturing reporter who died in captivity
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Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna went missing in August 2023 during a reporting trip to Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine.
PHOTO: REUTERS
KYIV - Ukraine said on April 24 it identified the body of journalist Viktoria Roshchyna, who had died in Russian captivity, and a forensic medical examination revealed signs of torture and ill-treatment.
Ms Roshchyna died at the age of 27 in September 2024, after spending months in captivity.
The Russian Defence Ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
The journalist, whose first-hand reports provided a glimpse into life under Russian occupation early in Moscow’s invasion, went missing in August 2023 during a reporting trip to Russia-held eastern Ukraine.
The body of Ms Roshchyna was discovered among bodies that Russia handed over to Ukraine in February, Ukraine’s prosecutor-general’s office said on April 24.
“A tag with the surname Roshchyna was found on one of them,” it said in a statement.
The DNA tests showed that chances the body belonged to Ms Roshchyna were more than 99 per cent, and additional tests are being carried out with the help of French specialists, it said.
Ms Roshchyna’s family learned about her death in 2024 in a letter from Russia’s Defence Ministry, Reuters previously reported, citing the campaign group Reporters Without Borders.
It said she had died on Sept 19.
Ukrainian forensic experts were unable to determine the cause of death, but found signs of injuries and possible torture, Mr Yurii Bielousov, head of the war crimes department for Ukraine’s prosecutor-general, said on April 24.
“According to the results of the forensic medical examination, numerous signs of torture and ill-treatment were found on the victim’s body – in particular, abrasions and haemorrhages on various parts of the body, and a rib was broken,” he said in a video released by Ukrainian media outlet Ukrainska Pravda. REUTERS
