The 235th Garrison Military Court in Moscow arrested in absentia two commanders of the Ukrainian nationalist battalion “Azov” (recognized as a terrorist organization in the Russian Federation and banned) Konstantin Nemichev and Sergei Velichko, TASS writes with reference to the press service of the court. They are accused of torturing Russian servicemen and murdering them with extreme cruelty.
“The court granted the petition of the investigation and chose a preventive measure for Nemichev and Velichko in the form of detention for a period of two months from the moment of their detention or extradition,” the court said.
In August 2022, the Ministry of Internal Affairs announced a reward of 1 million rubles. for assistance in the capture of Nemichev and Velichko. They are accused of committing a crime under article 317 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (encroachment on the life of a law enforcement officer). According to the database of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Velichko was born in 1994, Nemichev – in 1996, both natives of the Kharkov region of Ukraine. It was reported that, according to the preliminary investigation, the suspects tortured Russian servicemen and killed them with extreme cruelty. Nemichev and Velichko are put on the international wanted list.
On February 16, Tatyana Moskalkova, Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation, received a response from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, to an appeal on torture of the Russian military by the Ukrainian side. “Our common goal is to prevent any act of violence and criminal acts against Russian prisoners of war and their relatives,” the ombudsman noted. Moskalkova also stated the importance of dialogue with the UN and noted the readiness of the organization to cooperate to solve the problem.
In mid-January, the Ombudsman published on Telegram photos of Russian soldiers in Ukrainian captivity received from their relatives. According to her, unknown people demanded a ransom from the families of prisoners of war and threatened to kill them. Moskalkova called the published materials “another piece of evidence for the future Nazi tribunal.”
She called on the UN and the Red Cross to demand that Ukraine comply with the Geneva Convention and added that she was preparing an appeal addressed to the chairman of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation Alexander Bastrykin. Moskalkova expressed hope that the Ministry of Defense and the FSB would be able to return the prisoners of war to Russia.