The lawyer explained why Russia often returns dismembered bodies of Ukrainian prisoners.

The founder of the project "Search.Plen", lawyer Nikolai Polozov, stated that Russia often returns dismembered bodies of Ukrainian prisoners to their relatives to hide traces of torture. This information became known from a Washington Post article, where relatives of a deceased "Azov" soldier talked about Russian authorities' attempts to make it impossible to determine the cause of death due to the state of the body, which was dismembered to such an extent that any medical examination became impossible.

According to Polozov, there are many such cases when the Russian side hands over bodies in a state that makes it impossible to establish the cause of death. At the same time, he noted that human rights activists understand the conditions in which prisoners and hostages are held.

Nikolai Polozov emphasized that the practices used by the Russian authorities include beatings, torture, starvation, and other forms of cruelty. He believes that Russia's interest in hiding the true causes of prisoners' deaths is understandable.

The human rights advocate noted that such cruel treatment is an obvious war crime and should be investigated by the International Criminal Court.

The Independent International Commission of Inquiry has also found new evidence of torture of Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war by Russia in the occupied territories of Ukraine and in the Russian Federation. The press service of the "Azov" brigade confirmed the death of the soldier Alexander Ishchenko in Russian captivity.

The death certificate issued in the Russian Federation indicates the date of death - July 22, 2024, but the cause of death was not established due to putrefactive changes in the organs and tissues of the corpse.