As of the end of October 2024, information on 238 civilians who were arbitrarily detained by representatives of the Russian Federation or groups controlled by the aggressor country was found, of which 17 were identified during the processing of testimonies in October 2024. Last month, the documenters of the NGO “Association of Relatives of Political Prisoners of the Kremlin” received 20 testimonies from people who witnessed and suffered from arbitrary detentions, shelling of civilian infrastructure and war crimes committed by the aggressor country against civilians. Three of them testified about the shelling of civilian infrastructure (in Melitopol and Zaporizhzhia), and the other 17 concerned illegal deprivations of liberty of civilians.

This document is important for confirming large-scale violations in the territory under the de facto control of the Russian Federation. It contains data on illegal searches, detentions, torture, coercion to cooperate, and oppression of representatives of religious communities (in particular Christians), confirming violations of Articles 12 (right to health), 15 (freedom of thought and religion), and 2 (non-discrimination). This source directly supports the submission's arguments regarding the targeted discriminatory policy applied by the Russian Federation in the occupied territories, particularly in the context of access to medical care, social services and freedom of conscience.