Update on the situation with 14 ex-prisoners Ukrainians, out of 2,500 prisoners illegally and forcibly taken to Russia from Holopristan IK-7, Kherson region, Ukraine, in the fall of 2022.
At the moment, all 14 people are again on the territory of Russia, under military escort. Latvia even expelled back to Russia those Ukrainians - former prisoners who initially crossed the Latvian border. Among them are people with serious illnesses that require continuous treatment.
After asking to call the Ukrainian ambassador to Latvia and provide assistance, the Ukrainians were forcibly, by the forces of the Latvian special forces, taken to the territory of Russia.
At the beginning of the war, these people were on the territory of Ukraine, they were forcibly deported to Russia, they are all under the protection of the 4th Geneva Convention (August 12, 1949). They have a right to demand and receive the protection of their state and international structures.
UnMode made an open appeal to official Ukrainian structures and international organizations protecting human rights with a request to immediately intervene in the situation.
Earlier, we informed that on January 30, 2023, 14 Ukrainian prisoners who had been kept in the temporary detention center for foreign citizens in Volgograd region for the last month were forcibly delivered by special transport from Russia-Latvia border checkpoint Ludza to the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia.
The whole group passed the border control on the territory of Russia, most of the group managed to pass the border control on the territory of Latvia, three Ukrainians were denied entry.
We remain in touch with the aforementioned Ukrainians, continue to monitor the development of the situation and will draw attention to the problem by all available means.