Donetsk, Dec 3 - DAN. Donetsk People’s Republic ombudswoman Darya Morozova has met with her Ukrainian counterpart Lyudmila Denisova, Morozova’s Office reported on Thursday.
There were two issues on the agenda of the meeting. Morozova raised the problem of non-fulfilment by Kiev of its obligations to drop charges against 50 citizens who had been moved to the DPR in the 2019 and 2020 prisoner exchanges. The ombudswoman said that Ukraine, by continuing criminal prosecution against them, is committing a gross violation of their personal, property, civil and social rights.
She also told Denisova that Kiev’s refusal to drop charges needed scrutiny in the contexts of human rights violations. “The mission of a human rights advocate is to act in the interests of rights and freedoms of a person and citizen. This has to be an invariable line in any circumstances. In the conditions of the armed conflict, it is even more important to summon up one's strength to ensure and protect the legal status of citizens,” she said.
Meanwhile, Kiev continues to persistently ignore the productive prisoner exchange scenario. Ukrainian representatives have not yet answered the DPR enquiry about the status and whereabouts of citizens, sent in March 2020, and have not provided information on fulfilling their commitment to drop charges against former detaineers.*jk