Human Rights Watch said that Ukrainian authorities should cease releasing footage of arrested Russian troops on social media and messaging applications that draw public attention to them, particularly those that show them being insulted or harassed. Such treatment of prisoners of war, or POWs, breaches Geneva Conventions regulations meant to guarantee the dignity of captured soldiers on both sides.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the Ukrainian government’s main security arm, has a Telegram account with about 868,000 subscribers where it has posted videos of captured Russian soldiers who appear under duress or are revealing their names, identification numbers, and other personal information, including the names and addresses of their parents. It posts these films on its Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram sites, where it has over 978,000 followers and subscribers. A Telegram channel with almost 847,000 users that appears to be administered by the Internal Affairs Ministry does the same, as does an attached website and YouTube channel.
The protection of POWs is addressed in the third Geneva Convention and Additional Protocol I. They state unequivocally that POWs must be treated humanely under all situations and must be safeguarded from any act of violence, as well as intimidation, insults, and public curiosity. This includes the release of images or videos, recordings of interrogations, private conversations or personal correspondence, and any other sensitive information.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has said unequivocally that any material that enables viewers or readers to identify specific inmates should not be transmitted, published, or broadcast. There are exceptions to the rule, but they are rare and only permitted if there is a compelling public interest or disclosing the documents is in the prisoner’s vital interest, and then only insofar as it preserves the POW’s dignity.
The Ukrainian government should guarantee that the International Committee of the Red Cross has access to all prisoners of war and should collaborate with the ICRC to ensure that all personal information and data on POWs is handled in line with the Geneva Conventions.
The authorities should make every effort possible to identify and hold accountable anyone who has posted images and videos of POWs on social media sites, especially if they were also involved in taking or creating the images for purposes other than official, or misusing images taken for official purposes.
Russian forces’ violations are frequent and widespread, inflicting significant civilian suffering. At the same time, Ukraine has specific duties, including the legitimate treatment of POWs.
The need to protect POWs from becoming objects of public interest, as well as from intimidation or humiliation, is part of the wider obligation to assure their decent treatment and to protect their families from harm.
