Rights group urges Sri Lankan govt to do more for 7 citizens freed after Russian ‘torture'

A Colombo-based human rights group has urged the Sri Lankan government to take responsibility and do more for seven Sri Lankan nationals who claimed they were captured and tortured by Russians in eastern Ukraine.  

The seven individuals were freed last month when Ukrainian troops retook the eastern Kharkiv region from Russian forces. Recounting the beatings and forced labour at the hands of their Russian captors, one of the victims revealed that he was shot in the foot and another had his toenail torn off, reported South China Morning Post (SCMP).  

“It’s the responsibility of the government to look into the well-being of Sri Lankans inside and outside Sri Lanka,” stated Ruki Fernando, a human rights activist and consultant to the Centre for Society and Religion, reported SCMP.  

“The foreign ministry and embassies, funded by Sri Lankan citizens, must contact them and do everything possible to ensure their rights, dignity and well-being,” Fernando added.  

Rights group accuses the Sri Lankan government of little assistance

Ruki Fernando further claimed that based on available information on the capture and subsequent torture of the individuals, it appeared the Sri Lankan government “has done very little to assist them”.  

The human rights activist further claimed that the government had initially stated that they were looking into the matter, but government officials later briefed the media that the seven individuals were illegal migrants and did not want to return to Sri Lanka.  

The seven Sri Lankan victims recounted their ordeal at a press conference in Kharkiv last week, and stated that they were deeply affected and traumatized by what had transpired and have not decided what to do next, reported SCMP.  

Individuals detail torture  

The majority of the group hails from Sri Lanka’s Jaffna city. Four of the individuals were medical students in the city of Kupiansk while the remaining three were migrant workers working there when Russian forces crossed the border following Putin’s announcement of a special military operation on February 24.   

According to the report by SCMP, the Sri Lankan nationals tried to escape to Kharkiv after the onset of Russia’s invasion but were taken in custody at the first Russian checkpoint out of Kupiansk. They were then transferred to Vovchansk, near the border with Russia.   

“Every day, they tortured us,” revealed 25-year-old Dilukshan Robertclive.   

The group was held in an agricultural factory with up to 25 Ukrainians taken into custody by the Russian forces.  

“Every day, we were cleaning toilets and bathrooms,” Dilukshan further revealed, adding that there were days when the group was made to clean the Russian army’s “drinking places”.   

The Head of the investigative department of the National Police in Kharkiv, Serhiy Bolvinov stated that the factory housed a Russian “torture centre”.   

Moreover, the group recounted that they were beaten up for not being able to understand the Russian language upon being spoken to by their captors.  

Do Sri Lanka’s civil war past and economic crisis play a role?  

According to SCMP, Ruki Fernando stated, “Given most of them are Tamils from war-ravaged and highly-militarized northern Sri Lanka, and torture and other rights violations faced by Tamils in the north, it’s not surprising if they are not keen to come to Sri Lanka.”  

Moreover, the economic crisis in the island nation leading to food and fuel shortages in addition to inflation of approximately 95%, is driving many Sri Lankans to leave the nation, both legally and illegally, stated Fernando.  

Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry had earlier revealed through a September 17 statement that it was in contact with the Ukrainian government through the country’s embassy in Ankara, which is concurrently accredited to Ukraine, as well as through Ukraine’s embassy in New Delhi, to obtain further information on the matter.  

Moreover, the ministry had earlier facilitated the return of over 90 Sri Lankan nationals, including 16 students living in Ukraine in the starting months of the Russia-Ukraine war, between February and June 2022, reported SCMP.  

Ukraine berates Russia on torture  

The Deputy Interior Minister of Ukraine, Yevhen Yenin, stated that the atrocities committed against the seven individuals from Sri Lanka reflected the “low level of education and culture” of the invading force, reported SCMP.  

In an interview via Zoom, the Ukrainian Deputy Interior Minister described the conditions of the detention rooms where the Sri Lankan individuals were held as horrific and extremely indecent.  

Yenin went so far as to question the living standards of the Russian forces. “It is difficult to explain the level of cruelty and atrocities used by Russian soldiers. Maybe somehow this is connected to their living standards,” said Yenin, stated SCMP.  

He further claimed that large numbers of Russian soldiers come from remote regions with low levels of cultural values and education.