By Yulia Kalaban

On the night of September 25, 2023, Russian security forces stormed the home of Tetiana and Oleh Plachkovs in Melitopol. The couple was led out in handcuffs, and taken to an unknown location.  

Four months later, having been charged with “espionage,” Tetiana was brought to a Melitopol hospital in a coma. Ukrainian officials demanded her evacuation, but received no response. In May, Tetiana, 51, died. Oleh remains missing. 

Experts warn that their story is emblematic of a systematic Russian practice of detention, torture and coerced confession to construct a parallel legal reality in which the aggressor casts itself as the victim. Over the past three years, de facto courts in the occupied territories have issued at least 190 sentences based on fabricated charges, primarily for treason or espionage. 

Borys Petruniok, a war crimes documenter and analyst at the ZMINA Human Rights Centre, said that imposition of Russian criminal law in the occupied territories granted its security services sweeping powers, as well as being completely counter to international humanitarian law.

“Any form of dissent can be labeled as sabotage or espionage,” he explained. “Under the guise of combating terrorism, the Kremlin is legitimising the persecution of civilians and its repressive practices as a whole.”

Tetyana Katrychenko, director of the Media Initiative for Human Rights, said Russia had a long-term objective.

“Russia has already collected hundreds, if not thousands, of pieces of fabricated evidence and is issuing sentences based on baseless accusations. Eventually, it will attempt to use this body of falsehoods to justify its aggression.”

Ukraine is investigating the unlawful criminal prosecution of its citizens in the occupied territories as evidence becomes available, including testimonies from released detainees, relatives and lawyers, as well as documents and open-source material. This work is carried out by the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights and the Tribunal for Putin coalition. 

Andrii........

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