The international human rights organization Human Rights Watch published a report “We had no choice. Filtration and the crime of forced transfer of the Ukrainian population to Russia” about the filtration camps of the Russian Federation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. The report is published on the HRW website.

The report refers to crimes and violations of international humanitarian law in the regions of Ukraine temporarily occupied by Russian invaders, as well as to filtration camps.

The organization interviewed people, most of them went through a “filtering” process organized by the Russian special services and militants in eastern Ukraine. Occupiers forcibly take Ukrainian citizens to Russia or temporarily occupied areas.

The organization emphasized that the forced displacement of civilians is a serious violation of the laws of war, which is a war crime, and in some cases can be recognized as a crime against humanity..

“Citizens of Ukraine should not face a situation where the only choice for them is to leave for Russia. In addition, people fleeing hostilities should not be subjected to humiliating and brutal checks,” said Human Rights Watch expert Belkis Ville..

Human Rights Watch interviewed 54 people. Among them there are those who, having gone through the filtration procedure, left for the Russian Federation, took their relatives or friends to Russia, as well as those who helped Ukrainians who were taken to the Russian Federation to leave the country. Among the respondents, the majority are residents of Mariupol, but there were also residents of the Kharkiv region.

The organization sent a letter to the authorities of the Russian Federation outlining the established facts and questions, the Kremlin did not respond.

Forced displacement of the population.

The report states that the occupiers organized an “evacuation” for the population of Mariupol, but warned that they could leave only to temporarily occupied areas or to the Russian Federation.

“If we were given the opportunity to leave for Ukraine, we, of course, would be better off going there.. But we didn't have a choice.. We didn’t have that opportunity,” said one woman from Mariupol.

Some people said that they left for Russia of their own free will.. In particular, most of them expected to get to the EU countries through the Russian Federation..

HRW said that it is not yet possible to establish how many Ukrainian citizens were deported to Russia. However, the organization emphasized that the very process of “conducting the evacuation” allows it to be regarded as illegal forced displacement.

Some people deported to Russia were able to use phones, they turned for help to activists who helped them leave the Russian Federation, in particular, to Estonia, Latvia or Georgia. However, they sometimes encountered problems at the border, as not everyone was able to take their documents with them..

HRW stressed that according to the laws of war, the occupiers have no right to force Ukrainian citizens to leave for Russia. Forced displacement is a crime.

“And even if a person agrees to move, but does so only because he is afraid of facing violence, abuse or imprisonment in case of refusal, and if the occupying side uses a difficult situation in order to persuade people to move, this is also considered.

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During the " In addition, the invaders carried out searches, checked people's belongings, studied the contents of their phones, asking about political views and attitudes towards the Ukrainian military..

One resident of Mariupol said that in the queue for “filtration”, he, along with dozens of other Mariupol residents, was forced to live in difficult conditions for two weeks in the building of a rural school. According to him, many fell ill and thought with horror about their own future, feeling like hostages..

“It should be recognized that the Russian authorities have the legal right to conduct the necessary checks on people who voluntarily wish to enter the territory of the Russian Federation. However, the filtering process was organized in such a way that during it the citizens of Ukraine were systematically subjected to cruel and degrading treatment without any legal grounds and their right to privacy was violated,” the report notes..

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Human Rights Watch notes that Russian troops are obliged to provide civilians in the areas temporarily occupied by them with the opportunity, if they wish, to safely leave for the territory controlled by Ukraine.

In addition, the organization called on the invaders to stop collecting biometric data of Ukrainians in its current form..

“Biometric data may only be collected for legal reasons and only to the minimum extent necessary.. People need to be informed why their data is being collected, how it will be used and how long it will be kept,” said Human Rights Watch..

“The practice of moving people without their consent deep into the occupied territory and further into Russia must be immediately stopped.. The Russian authorities and international organizations must do everything possible to help those who were taken to Russia against their will and who want to return back safely to their homeland,” Belkis Ville said..

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Earlier it was reported that the Conflict Observatory program, which is supervised by the US State Department, published a report that provides evidence of the existence of filtration camps for Ukrainians and their forced deportation from Ukraine.

US Foreign Office report documents 21 filtration camps in Donetsk Oblast alone.