The ombudsman called on the Red Cross to assist in the return of the bodies of tortured teenagers from Berdyansk

The Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, appealed to the International Committee of the Red Cross to fulfill their mandate and allow the families to bury the tortured Tigran Ohannisyan and Mykyta Khanganov in the occupied Berdyansk.

This is reported by Bukvy.

In May 2023, 16-year-olds Tigran and Mykyta were accused by the Russian Investigative Committee of “preparing a sabotage on the railway.”

According to Lubinets, based on human rights activists’ data, Ohannisyan was brutally interrogated and tortured for five days. They demanded that the teenager confess to preparing sabotage.

Meanwhile, the European Parliament passed a resolution regarding Tigran Ohannisyan and Mykyta Khanganov, demanding that the occupiers release the teenagers. Despite this, on June 24, 2023, the Russians in Berdyansk killed the Ukrainian patriots. 

“An extrajudicial execution took place! Now the Russian side refuses to return the boys’ bodies to their parents or the Ukrainian side. According to the information I received, the Russians are planning to secretly bury their bodies,” the ombudsman emphasized.

Lubinets appealed to the ICRC, demanding that they fulfill their mandate and allow the families to bury their children, emphasizing that the ICRC is the only international organization with the right to access the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

“They are responsible for the repatriation of bodies and the resolution of such situations! Russia’s impunity and the inaction of responsible international organizations have led to the fact that the occupiers not only did not release the boys from occupation but, contrary to all norms, killed them! And now they do not allow them to be buried with dignity,” Lubinets added.

In the summer of 2023, the occupiers killed two teenagers – Tigran Ohannisyan and Mykyta Khanganov – in temporarily occupied Berdyansk.

The Russians suspected the teenagers of sabotaging the railway to block the railway connection with Berdyansk. The occupation authorities acknowledged the execution by the Russian military, calling the Ukrainian patriots “terrorists.”

On May 24, 2023, the Russian Investigative Committee accused them of conspiracy to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The boys faced 10 to 20 years in prison. Later, a video circulated on social media showing a boy resembling Tigran Ohannisyan saying, “…two for sure… That’s it, it’s death, guys. Farewell. Glory to Ukraine!”

During the annual meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council, the head of MIHR, Olha Reshetylova, called on the OSCE to intervene in this situation, as the families have not been returned the bodies of the deceased. Tigran Ohannisyan’s family lawyer, Andriy Yakovlev, confirmed that the bodies have not been returned.

Ukraine Front Lines

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