Extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions of civilians in the Russian-controlled territories of Ukraine

The submission is based on the analysis of 48 confirmed cases of extrajudicial executions and deaths as a result of the torture of civilians documented by the Media Initiative for Human Rights (MIHR) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT).

The documented cases are part of a broader pattern of violence against civilians in the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine. These crimes may amount to crimes against humanity of persecution, given the intention of the Russian Federation-controlled armed forces to discriminate against a broad group of civilians on political grounds.

While cases of extrajudicial executions of civilians are less widespread than enforced disappearances or torture, their impact on victims, victims' relatives, and occupied communities should be considered cumulatively with other related violations.

Almost all documented cases of extrajudicial executions and deaths as a result of torture were related to enforced disappearances and arbitrary and incommunicado detention of victims. In the majority of the documented cases, the victims were civilians suspected by the Russian military to be collaborating with the Ukrainian army.

Among the documented cases, there are four typical circumstances in which extrajudicial executions and other related deaths took place: 1) intentional extrajudicial executions as collective punishment; 2) deaths as a result of torture while in detention or after release; 3) cases of intentional executions of detainees; 4) violent deaths under unknown circumstances in settlements under the control of the Russian army with indirect evidence of the Russian military's liability for these killings.

The detailed description of these patterns is described in the submission.