A Russian court has ordered a check to be carried out into Pavlo Gryb’s allegations of torture after viewing a video showing injuries which the 20-year-old Ukrainian student says were caused by having his hands bound for a long time in fishing line. Such checks are seldom more than a formality, however, in this case, there is a stark difference between Gryb’s account of where he was seized and the torture used to obtain a ‘confession’ which he retracted as soon as he was allowed to see a lawyer, and the prosecution’s claims. The defense has presented confirmation of Gryb’s return ticket to Ukraine from Belarus, the prosecution – only a very implausible account from Smolensk oblast FSB officers, whom Gryb says he had never seen before.
Russia's War Against Ukraine
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Halya Coynash: Russian court orders investigation into Gryb’s account of torture
A picture shows Ukraine's Pavlo Gryb, who was detained in Belarus and found in Krasnodar prison later.
