The Ukrainian journalist died in Russian captivity – signs of torture on his body

• Roschina fell for the third time in the Russian captivity, previously kidnapped by Russian secret service
• Traces caused by electricity were found on the corpse, its ribs also broke
• The Ukrainian Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation into suspicion of torture and intentional murder

Traces of Ukrainian forensic medical experts discovered traces of torture and earlier autopsy on the body of a Ukrainian journalist who died in an unclear circumstances in a Russian prison. They have ordered a medical autopsy, which has to be done by three independent professionals, adding that if a heart attack could be done by a journalist, the pain could be caused by the pain he could suffer during his detention.

27 -year -old Viktorija Roschina, an external member of Ukraine Pravda, disappeared in August 2023 during her work in the Russian occupation. The freelance reporter had previously worked for the free Europe and several leading Ukrainian newspapers, traveled from Ukraine to Poland on July 27, 2023, and from there to the Russian occupied eastern Ukraine. According to Volodimir Roschin, his father, last time he reported on August 3, 2023.

In October 2024, he was with twenty -five other Ukrainian journalists arrested by the Russian army on the front line and in areas under Russian control. The Ukrainians were prepared to bring Roschina in the framework of a prison exchange, and it was reported to be taken from Taganrog, a Russian city near the Ukrainian border, to the Leffortovo detention camp in Moscow. During the journey, the journalist died.

The Kiev Prosecutor’s Office began to investigate the disappearance of Roschina as a war crime and a deliberate murder. In February this year, Russia returned Ukraine’s body to Ukraine, which later revealed the DNA test that Roschina was the earthly remnant.

Yuri Belouzov, head of the military department of the Prosecutor General’s Office, announced at a press conference that there were signs of torture and cruel treatment, bruises, bruises and a broken rib. According to the announcement, traces were also found that were presumably caused by electricity, and external injuries were clearly caused by life and could be cruelly tortured.

The Ukrainian investigative team confirmed that the body had traces of autopsy that were previously completed when the body was still in Russia. Due to the condition and partial mummification of the body, criminal experts were unable to determine the exact cause of death, which is why they ordered a specialist group of doctors specializing in such cases to analyze such cases.

The journalist’s friend, Peace Nobel Prize-winning Oleksandra Matvijchuk, head of the Ukrainian Civil Rights Center, also responded. Roschina’s tragedy:

– « He died in unknown circumstances in Russian captivity while fighting for what he believed in: freedom, transparency, and democracy. His courage towards difficulties is a trait that every journalist, every person must strive for! »