Journalists are also not safe
Experts seek answers from Russia on death of award-winning Ukrainian journalist
UN Photo/Milton Grant Aerial view of the Kremlin and Red Square in the Russian Federation. (File)
In the last few decades, the number of human rights organizations has also increased and has become even faster but human rights violations have not stopped. Journalists too could not escape from human rights enemies. The story is not of any one country or place. Looking at the developments around the world, concerns start increasing.
Now again the talk is about Victoria Roshchina. She is continuously missing. The family of award-winning Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roshchina has been living in agony for more than half a year, seeking answers about the fate of their daughter, after she disappeared while reporting from the Russian-occupied territory in eastern Ukraine. Just imagine the condition of her family who have neither seen her face in time nor have they received any official information about what happened to their daughter. The shadow of their daughter's death keeps them terrified day and night.
Now the family as well as a group of independent United Nations human rights experts have expressed concern. In a statement issued on Wednesday, experts from this group have demanded immediate confirmation of reports about Roshchina's death. Here it is worth reminding that this brave journalist Roshchina was forcibly disappeared in August 2023. She was young and her journalism career was also short. She was able to show the talent of her pen for barely six years.
Experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council said the uncertainty over her fate had caused anguish to her family, adding that such prolonged uncertainty "is tantamount to torture and ill-treatment under international law."
She went missing while reporting
Ms Roshchina, who received the 2022 International Women's Media Foundation's Courage in Journalism Award and was renowned for her independent war reporting, was arbitrarily detained by Russian forces in the city of Melitopol in the Zaporizhia region. After being detained, she was deported to Russia without any legal process or formal charges, experts said.
The last unofficial information about her whereabouts placed her on 8 September in a detention facility in the Russian city of Taganrog - a detention center notorious for using torture against Ukrainian citizens and prisoners.
She was then reportedly taken to an unknown location, leaving no trace of her whereabouts. There was no word on what happened to her.
Ambiguous response
The family's search for answers has yielded only two brief communications from Russian authorities. The first, on April 17, 2024, only confirms her determination in the Russian Federation.
Then on October 10, 2024, the famous war reporter's father received a letter from an official of Russia's Ministry of Defense, signed "V.Koh." The letter did not reveal the official status of his authority. The letter alleged that she had died on September 19, but provided no supporting documents or details.
"Since Victoria's detention or alleged death has not been officially confirmed through the provision of evidence, we urge the Russian government to immediately confirm her fate and whereabouts," the experts said.
Demand for investigation The UN experts have demanded that "if her death is confirmed, we demand that her body be immediately repatriated home to enable an independent investigation into the cause and circumstances of her death, including an independent autopsy."
They added that "if confirmed, the Russian authorities will bear responsibility for the arbitrary deprivation of life in state custody.
We demand accountability and justice for Viktoria Roshchina." Widespread detention The case of Viktoria Roshchina is part of a larger pattern of detention.
Currently, at least 1,672 Ukrainian citizens, including 25 journalists, are in detention in the Russian Federation. The UN experts call on the Russian government "to disclose their fate and whereabouts and to immediately release all Ukrainians arbitrarily detained, deported and detained in the Russian Federation," the experts said.
The Special Rapporteur and other rights experts are not UN employees and are independent of any government or organization. They work in their personal capacity and do not get salary for their work.
Now it remains to be seen when will the atrocities against these warriors of pen stop for fighting the battle of getting the right news through pen? When will they get security? When will these journalists of truth be respected?