Freedom House urges to punish Russia for Victoria Roshchyna's murder

The international human rights organization Freedom House called on the international community to hold the Russian authorities fully accountable for the murder of Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roshchyna in a post on X.

We join @HelsinkiComm in mourning Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna and urge the international community to hold Russian authorities fully accountable.

Roshchyna’s death demonstrates not just how Putin and the Kremlin have routinely violated the fundamental freedoms of… https://t.co/YOLqNPJKQo

— Freedom House (@freedomhouse) October 17, 2024

Previously

The death of Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roshchyna in Russian detention was reported on October 10, 2024. According to the letter sent to her family by Russia's Ministry of Defense on October 10, Victoria died on September 19.

Dmytro Lubinets, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, said that he had official documentary confirmation of Victoria Roshchyna's death from Russia's side.

Victoria Roshchyna's name was on the swap lists.

Earlier, Russia admitted detaining Victoria Roshchyna, who went missing on August 3, 2023 in the temporarily occupied territory. Victoria was held in Russia.

On October 11, the police reclassified the case opened previously over Roshchyna's disappearance (Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) as Part 2 of Article 438 of the CCU: violation of the laws and customs of war combined with premediated murder.

According to the Media Initiative for Human Rights, Victoria Roshchyna was detained in one of the most brutal prisons in Russia – the Taganrog PTDC No. 2. Former prisoners talk about this detention center as a prison with the most intense torture.

Ukrainian journalists and media workers have called on the international community to take decisive and immediate action regarding Viktoria Roshchyna's murder in Russian captivity. The journalists called on organizations such as the UN, OSCE, PACE, and ICRC to take action according to their mandates. As of October 22, the statement has 293 signatures.

The international watchdog "Reporters Without Borders" demands an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Victoria Roshchyna's death in Russian custody.

On October 18, Petro Yatsenko, a representative of the Coordinating Headquarters for POW Treatment, did not deny that Russia could be stalling with the repatriation of her body. He later reported that the journalist's body had not been given back to Ukraine as part of the October 18 swap.