"All servicemen are charged under the article on terrorism, and already during the investigation additional charges of murder, looting, and torture are added", - stated Luhansk collaborator Rodion Miroshnik, appointed by the kremlin as "special envoy of the foreign ministry".
According to him, by mid-September, between 650 and 670 such cases had been opened. All Ukrainian POWs are accused under the same article – "committing a terrorist act by a group of persons causing severe consequences". And although verdicts are handed down by the 2nd Western District Military Court, the grave criminal article deprives the defendants of prisoner-of-war status.
As reported, the 1949 Geneva Convention, which establishes the regime of military captivity and protects the rights of prisoners of war, stipulates that "in no case shall a prisoner of war be tried by a court that does not afford the essential recognized guarantees of independence and impartiality".