Hundreds of civilians have been killed in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv by indiscriminate Russian shelling using widely banned cluster munitions and inherently inaccurate rockets, Amnesty International said today. 

A new report, ‘Anyone can die at any time’: Indiscriminate attacks by Russian forces in Kharkiv, Ukraine, documents how Russian forces have caused widespread death and destruction by relentlessly bombarding residential neighbourhoods of Kharkiv since their invasion began in late February. 

During an extensive investigation, Amnesty International found evidence of Russian forces repeatedly using 9N210/9N235 cluster munitions as well as scatterable mines, both of which are subject to international treaty bans because of their indiscriminate effects. 

“The people of Kharkiv have faced a relentless barrage of indiscriminate attacks in recent months, which killed and injured hundreds of civilians,” said Donatella Rovera, Amnesty International’s Senior Crisis Response Adviser. 

“People have been killed in their homes and in the streets, in playgrounds and in cemeteries, while queueing for humanitarian aid, or shopping for food and medicine. 

“The repeated use of widely banned cluster munitions is shocking, and a further indication of utter disregard for civilian lives. The Russian forces responsible for these horrific attacks must be held accountable for their actions, and victims and their families must receive full reparations.” 

The director of the Medical Department at the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration told Amnesty International that 606 civilians had been killed and 1,248 injured in the Kharkiv region since the conflict began. Most of the strikes investigated by Amnesty International inflicted multiple casualties over widespread areas. 

While Russia is not a party to either the Convention on Cluster Munitions or the Convention on Anti-Personnel Mines, international humanitarian law prohibits indiscriminate attacks, and the use of weapons that are indiscriminate by nature.  Launching indiscriminate attacks resulting in death or injury to civilians, or damage to civilian objects, constitutes war crimes. 

©Amnesty International

The people of Kharkiv have faced a relentless barrage of indiscriminate attacks in recent months, which killed and injured hundreds of civilians

Donatella Rovera, Amnesty International’s Senior Crisis Response Adviser

Playground attack 

The bombardment of Kharkiv, home to 1.5 million people, started on 24 February when the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. Residential neighbourhoods in the northern and eastern parts of the city bore the brunt of the shelling. 

On the afternoon of 15 April, Russian forces fired cluster munitions in and around Myru Street, in the Industrialni neighbourhood. At least nine civilians were killed and more than 35 injured, including several children. Doctors at Kharkiv’s City Clinical Hospital 25 showed Amnesty International metal fragments they had removed from patients’ bodies, including the distinctive pieces of steel rods contained in 9N210/9N235 cluster munitions. 

Tetiana Ahayeva, a 53-year-old nurse, was standing by the entrance of her building when several cluster bombs exploded. She told Amnesty International: “There was a sudden sound of firecrackers everywhere, lots of them, all over. I saw puffs of black smoke where the explosions occurred. We dropped to the ground and tried to find cover. Our neighbour’s son, a 16-year-old boy called Artem Shevchenko, was killed on the spot… His father had a shattered hip and a shrapnel wound in his leg. It’s hard to say how long the explosions lasted; a minute can seem to last forever.” 

In a nearby playground, Oksana Litvynyenko, 41, suffered devastating injuries when several cluster munitions exploded while she was walking with her husband Ivan and their four-year-old daughter. Shrapnel penetrated her back, chest and abdomen, puncturing her lungs and spine. She tragically died on 11 June. The strike took place in the middle of the afternoon, while many other families were at the playground with their children.

Ivan told Amnesty International on 26 April: “All of a sudden, I saw a flash… I grabbed my daughter and pushed her against the tree and hugged the tree, so that she was protected between the tree and my body. There was a lot of smoke, and I couldn’t see anything… Then as the smoke around me eased, I saw people on the ground… my wife Oksana was lying on the ground. When my daughter saw her Mum on the ground in a pool of blood, she said to me, ‘Let’s go home: Mum is dead and the people are dead’. She was in shock and so was I. I still don’t know whether my wife will recover; the doctors cannot say if she will be able to speak or walk again. Our world has been turned upside down.”

After more than one month in intensive care, Oksana’s condition had improved slightly, but she died from her injuries on 11 June. Amnesty International researchers found the distinctive fins and metal pellets and other fragments from the 9N210/9N235 cluster munitions at the playground. Several small craters in the concrete ground were also visible, consistent with the damage expected from the explosion of such munitions.

©Amnesty International

All of a sudden, I saw a flash… I grabbed my daughter and pushed her against the tree and hugged the tree, so that she was protected between the tree and my body

Ivan Litvynyenko, playground attack survivor.

Humanitarian queue strike 

At least six people were killed and 15 were injured on the morning of 24 March, when cluster munitions struck a parking lot near the Akademika Pavlova metro station where hundreds of people were queuing for humanitarian aid. 

Valeriia Kolyshkina, a sales assistant in a pet shop close to the scene of the strike, said that one man was killed when the explosions destroyed the glass front of a nearby store.  

She told Amnesty International: “A man was killed just outside the shop. He was standing outside smoking while his wife was buying pet food… Metal shrapnel came through the front window, flying over my head as I was behind the counter. Then there were several more explosions. It was utter panic. The shop was full of people. We ran to the storage room at the back of the shop for protection. It was very scary… I thought I would die.” 

Ruslan*, a local policeman who witnessed the attack, said: “It was really a horrible situation, shrapnel was falling like rain.” 

Amnesty International researchers found parts of a 220mm Uragan rocket, which carries 30 submunitions, still embedded in a crater in the tarmac. Around the area, they also found fins and fragments from the 9N210/9N235 cluster munitions, and multiple other craters. 

Two other cluster munitions also hit the roof of the Holy Trinity Church, approximately 500 metres from where the rocket landed. The church serves as a humanitarian hub where volunteers prepare food and aid packages to be distributed to people who struggle to access humanitarian assistance distribution points, such as older people and those with disabilities and reduced mobility. Pastor Petro Loboiko and Pastor Serhii Andreiivich showed Amnesty International shrapnel from two cluster munitions that had penetrated the church’s walls and doors after exploding on the roof.   

©Amnesty International

It was utter panic. The shop was full of people. We ran to the storage room at the back of the shop for protection. It was very scary… I thought I would die

Valeriia Kolyshkina, a sales assistant in a pet shop close to the scene of the strike.

Lost limbs 

On the afternoon of 12 March, Veronica Cherevychko, a 30-year-old logistics manager and mother, lost her right leg when a Grad rocket struck a playground in front of her home in the Saltivka neighbourhood. 

She told Amnesty International: “I was sitting on this bench when the explosion happened. I remember hearing a whistling sound just before the explosion. Then I woke up in hospital, without a leg; my right leg was gone. Now my life is divided into before 12 March, and after 12 March. I will get used to this. Now I am not yet used to it; I often try to touch my leg, to scratch my foot… I don’t know what to say about [the] people who did it. I will never understand them.” 

Three people were killed and six injured when a series of cluster munitions exploded in the same neighbourhood on the morning of 26 April. Olena Sorokina, a 57-year-old cancer survivor, lost both legs in the blast. She was sitting outside her building waiting for a delivery of humanitarian aid when she heard the sound of a flying shell and ran to the entrance of the building. 

Olena blacked out, then woke up in an ambulance and realized that she had lost a leg. She was taken to hospital, where her other leg also had to be amputated. She is now in western Ukraine, hoping to be transferred to a rehabilitation facility elsewhere in Europe. Olena told Amnesty International: “After the battle with cancer, now I have to face another battle to learn to function without legs.” 

Unguided rockets – such as Grads and Uragans, which have been routinely used by Russian forces – are inherently inaccurate, making them indiscriminate when used in populated areas. Unguided artillery shells have a margin of error of over 100 metres. In residential areas where buildings are no more than a few metres apart, such inaccuracies are virtually certain to cost civilian lives and cause widespread destruction and damage to civilian infrastructure. 

Ukrainian forces, for their part, often launched strikes from residential neighbourhoods, endangering civilians in those areas. Such a practice violates international humanitarian law, but does not in any way justify Russian forces’ repeated indiscriminate strikes. 

©Amnesty International

I don’t know what to say about [the] people who did it. I will never understand them

Veronica Cherevychko, a 30-year-old logistics manager who lost her right leg.

Methodology 

Amnesty International researchers investigated 41 strikes (which killed at least 62 people and injured at least 196) and interviewed 160 people in Kharkiv over 14 days in April and May, including survivors of attacks, relatives of victims, witnesses, and doctors who treated the injured. The organization’s researchers collected and analysed material evidence from strike locations, notably munitions fragments, as well as an array of digital materials. 

All of Amnesty International’s ongoing documentation of violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committed during the war in Ukraine is available here. 

find out more about indiscriminate attacks in kharkiv

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Algerian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release, and drop all charges against, three members of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light, who were arrested earlier this week solely for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of religion, said Amnesty International today.

The authorities must also drop all charges against 21 other members of the group who are currently released pending investigation.

On 6 June 2022, the First Instance Tribunal in Bejaia charged the 24 men who identify as members of the Ahmadi religious group with ‘participation in an unauthorized group’ and ‘denigrating Islam’, under Article 46 of the Law on Associations and Article 144 bis 2 of the Algerian Penal Code, respectively. The judge ordered the immediate detention of three members and released the others pending further investigation. Their lawyer appealed this decision on 8 June.

“The Algerian authorities have legal obligations to respect, protect, promote and fulfil the right to freedom of religion of everyone in the country which includes those with religious beliefs that are different to the majority. It is outrageous that a group of people find themselves behind bars simply for practising their faith or for their beliefs,” said Amna Guellali, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“Algerian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release the three detained men and drop all charges against them and the 21 other members of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light.”

Redouane Foufa, the coordinator of the group of religious members in Bejaia, told Amnesty International before his arrest that the Algerian authorities have been intimidating and harassing the group in Bejaia since April 2022. They interrogated them about their religious beliefs and confiscated their passports, phones and laptops on 2 April. They returned their passports on 7 June but kept their electronic devices.

On 5 June, police in Bejaia held the 24 members of the group for 13 Hours. They interrogated the adults and took their photographs and fingerprints.

According to Nadia Saliba, a group member and wife of detainee Khireddine Ahman, one officer said they are traitors of Islam and do not deserve rights as citizens. The members of the group were told they would appear in court the next morning and that their children were prohibited from attending Algerian schools until next year.

On 6 June, the group of 24 spent 14 hours in court before three of them — Redouane Foufa, the coordinator of the movement in Bejaia, and two other members, Khireddine Ahman and Cherif Mohamed Ali — were charged and sent to Bejaia’s Oued Ghir prison.

The Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light was established in 1993. It follows the teachings of Imam Mahdi and believes in Imam Ahmed al-Hassan as its divine guide. There are currently an estimated 70 members in Algeria.

It is outrageous that a group of people find themselves behind bars simply for practising their faith or for their beliefs.

Amna Guellali, Amnesty International

According to Hadil El Khouly, a spokesperson for the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light, the members of the group in Bejaia have been interrogated by police a total of ten times over the past three months.

In an interview with Amnesty International before his arrest, Redouane Foufa said that around 30 soldiers had previously searched the house he shares with the members of the group and seized documents such as ID cards and passports, as well as phones and laptops.

Youssra Bezai, another member of the religious minority group, told Amnesty International: “We were living peacefully in our home. We never tried to take our beliefs outside. It is them who came to us and violated our privacy and our rights.”

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Reacting to the news that police violently broke up a student-organised Pride march at the Middle East Technical University (METU) campus in Ankara, Türkiye’s capital, arresting some students after dragging them on the ground, Nils Muižnieks, Amnesty International’s Europe Director said:

“Scenes of peaceful Pride marchers on the METU campus being confronted with police using unnecessary and excessive force, including pepper balls, are deeply disturbing, particularly as this is a repeat of the brutality we saw here three years ago.

“It is a dark day when university authorities notify the police to break up students who are simply marching peacefully for their rights to dignity and equality. All those detained by police solely for exercising their right to peaceful assembly must be immediately and unconditionally released.”

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The international community must use all diplomatic means available to stop the Iranian authorities from amputating the fingers of eight men, at least three of whom were convicted based on torture-tainted “confessions” following grossly unfair trials, said Amnesty International today.

According to information obtained by the organization, the authorities have informed the men that they will be transferred to a prison with a guillotine machine in the coming days to implement their sentences.

“Amputating prisoners’ fingers is a form of torture, and is yet another shocking reminder of the shameless inhumanity of the criminal justice system in Iran, which legalizes torture, a crime under international law. Carrying out such heinous punishments is not justice – it is an abhorrent assault on human dignity. The Iranian authorities must immediately quash the convictions and amputation sentences of these eight men and grant them fair retrials without resorting to corporal punishments,” said Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“We call on the international community to urgently intervene to stop these sentences from being carried out. They must also call on Iranian authorities to abolish all forms of corporal punishment. It is unacceptable that the authorities in Iran continue to commit such criminal acts of cruelty with impunity.”

All eight men are currently being held at the Greater Tehran Central Penitentiary. Hadi Rostami, Mehdi Sharfian and Mehdi Shahivand – were transferred from Urumieh prison, West Azerbaijan province, on 15 May 2022, in preparation for the implementation of their sentences. Of the remaining five prisoners, the name of one, Yaghoub Fazeli, has been identified, but the organization has not been able to obtain the names of the other men. All eight were convicted of robbery and sentenced to amputation of their fingers. Amnesty International understands that the sentences of all the men have been upheld by the Supreme Court and sent to the Office for the Implementation of Sentences. This means their sentences could be carried out at any time.

Prosecution authorities told the men on 8 June 2022 that they would be transferred to Tehran’s Evin prison or Raja’i Shahr prison in Karaj, Alborz province, to have their sentences carried out, but the transfer was postponed at the last minute for unknown reasons. This comes amid reports from human rights activists in Iran that a guillotine machine was brought to the medical clinic of Evin prison last month and that, on 31 May 2022, the prison authorities amputated four fingers of a prisoner who was moved there from Dizel Abad prison, Kermanshah province, for the implementation of his sentence.

Amputating prisoners’ fingers is a form of torture, and is yet another shocking reminder of the shameless inhumanity of the criminal justice system in Iran, which legalizes torture, a crime under international law.

Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International

Inhumane punishments such as amputation are torture, which is a crime under international law and prohibited under Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a state party. Iran is legally obliged to prohibit and punish torture in all circumstances and without exception.

Despite this, Iran’s Islamic Penal Code also provides for other corporal judicial punishments amounting to torture, including flogging, blinding, crucifixion and stoning.

“To prevent such state-sanctioned torture and provide victims with redress, we call on all states to exercise universal jurisdiction where possible to investigate Iranian officials, including medical professionals, responsible for ordering, committing, aiding and/or abetting acts of torture such as amputations, and if enough admissible evidence exists, issue arrest warrants and seek to prosecute them.”

Background

Hadi Rostami and Mehdi Shahivand went on hunger strike on 29 May 2022 to protest their sentences. They ended their hunger strike on 2 June 2022 after officials assured them they would be pardoned.

Hadi Rostami, Mehdi Sharfian and Mehdi Shahivand were all denied access to lawyers during the investigation phase of their cases, and courts relied on forced “confessions” obtained under torture and other ill-treatment to secure their convictions, despite the defendants retracting them during their trials. The judicial authorities failed to order any investigations into their torture allegations. According to their court verdicts, reviewed by Amnesty International, they are sentenced to “have four fingers on their right hands completely cut off so only the palm of their hands and thumbs are left”, as per the punishment stipulated for certain types of robbery under Iran’s Islamic Penal Code.

Previous plans by the Iranian authorities to carry out the sentences against Hadi Rostami, Mehdi Sharfian and Mehdi Shahivand were halted in September 2020 after international pressure.

In February 2021, Hadi Rostami was flogged 60 times in prison after being convicted of “disrupting prison order” in reprisal for his peaceful protest, including through hunger strikes, against his inhumane prison conditions and repeated threats that his amputation sentence would be implemented imminently. He has attempted suicide twice in prison, resulting in serious health complications.

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AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL INDIA

PRESS RELEASE

Indian authorities must ensure a prompt, independent and impartial investigation into the recent unlawful killings of civilians by armed groups in Kashmir, Amnesty International India said today. The killings of three people belonging to the Hindu minority community last week adds to the long-standing violence against civilians that has been escalating since the unilateral revocation of Jammu & Kashmir’s special autonomy on 5 August 2019 by the Government of India.

“The Indian authorities must take urgent steps for the protection of the people of Kashmir. For decades, people of Jammu & Kashmir have suffered from gross human rights violations and abuses committed by both state and non-state actors. The sheer impunity with which the human rights of the people of Jammu & Kashmir have been systematically disregarded by Indian authorities must end if we are to fulfil the rights of victims and help ensure that such abuses against civilians are not repeated,” said Aakar Patel, chair of Amnesty International India Board.

The Indian authorities must take urgent steps for the protection of the people of Kashmir

Aakar Patel, chair of Amnesty International India Board

Media reports suggest that at least 19 civilians have been killed in 2022 so far, of which seven belonged to the Hindu minority community including a schoolteacher, shopkeeper, government employees and a casual daily worker. According to the Government of India, between August 2019 and November 2021, 87 civilians were killed by armed groups in Jammu & Kashmir. An increasing number of Hindu minorities are now reportedly fleeing their homes due to the fear of the rising threat to their lives as armed groups target them for being alleged government ‘collaborators’.

“Since 2019, the Indian authorities have imposed collective punishment measures against the Kashmiri population under the garb of ‘counter-terrorism’ measures. But the recent spate in targeting of civilians raises further questions on the government’s actions which include a heavy-handed crackdown on peaceful protests in the valley including those recently held by Kashmiri pandits who were subjected to baton charges and tear gas shells. The relentless crackdown on politicians, journalists, human rights activists and even the closure of the state human rights commission has further stifled independent voices and left the people of Kashmir without an appropriate remedy,” said Aakar Patel.

Since the revocation of Jammu & Kashmir’s special status in 2019, the Indian authorities, have arrested many human rights defenders including journalists and activists under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, India’s primary counter-terrorism law. At least 36 journalists have faced interrogation, raids, threats or physical assault for their reporting until now. According to Access Now, people in Jammu & Kashmir faced at least 85 internet shutdowns in 2021 – one of the highest in the world. The shutdowns were imposed for long periods of time and in violation of India’s Supreme Court that held that internet shutdowns must satisfy the tests of necessity and proportionality. According to the digital rights organization, these shutdowns were imposed as part of “counterterrorism” measures.

Even though, the Indian authorities have claimed a significant improvement in the security situation in Jammu & Kashmir, the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act remains on the law books. The legislation officially tasks the security forces with protecting civilians, upholding national security and combatting violence by armed groups. However, in the name of security operations, security force personnel have historically committed many grave human rights violations – including torture, rape and extrajudicial executions – which have gone unpunished. The failure to address these abuses have violated the rights of the victims to justice and remedy, which is enshrined in the Constitution of India and the international human rights law.

“It is not too late for the Government of India to take meaningful steps towards creating an inclusive and safe society instead of peddling a false notion of normalcy in the region and encouraging the perpetration of more abuses. Until then, the Indian government’s historical failure to protect the people of Kashmir will keep feeding into this never-ending cycle of abuses and impunity,” said Aakar Patel.

Indian government’s historical failure to protect the people of Kashmir will keep feeding into this never-ending cycle of abuses and impunity

Aakar Patel

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