Forced abductions, torture, workplace intimidation – documentarians publish report on russian crimes at ZNPP

Documentarians and investigators from Truth Hounds NGO have analyzed systematic kidnappings, torture and murders of Zaporizhia NPP (ZNPP) employees, which have been carried out with the assistance of Rosatom, russian state atomic energy corporation, since March 2022. Their report included the testimony of 14 eyewitnesses of alleged war crimes that took place on the territory of the ZNPP. Having interviewed the witnesses, the researchers established accurate personal data of at least 30 victims of alleged war crimes of various types on the territory of the ZNPP.

Roman Avramenko, Executive director of Truth Hounds, made this statement during the event at the country’s main discussion platform BrainHub at Media Center Ukraine – Ukrinform.

“This report draws attention to the events at the ZNPP and analyzes the evidence in the context of the applied International Criminal Law and other legal norms. It establishes that the Rosatom corporation actually exercised effective control over the entire plant starting from March 11 last year; that on the territory of the station FSB operatives forcefully abducted, tortured and intimidated station personnel as well as threatened them with sexual violence. People working at this station were taken to the forest and forced to dig their own graves, they (russians – Ed.) threatened to kill and rape their relatives. And all this happened at least with the tacit consent of representatives of the Rosatom corporation, and most likely, they were initiated, and a policy of condoning such crimes was in place. Unfortunately, this is still happening,” Roman Avramenko emphasized.

He mentioned the main reason why such methods of influencing ZNPP employees were used, which is to make the employees sign contracts with Rosatom, renouncing affiliation with the nuclear energy system, so that they would report on the condition of the plant units to the occupiers, so that they would cooperate more willingly.

In addition, Oleksandra Romantsova, Executive Director at the Center for Civil Liberties NGO, pointed out that the report shows that Rosatom not only does not help to preserve and implement human rights, the safety conditions for licensed, unique workers specifically at the ZNPP, but can also initiate violations and even war crimes against such people.

“That is, the idea is to convey the danger of such behavior by a huge corporation, incorporated in a huge number of international business processes, with a level of danger for the whole world – that is exactly the nuance that we consider in this report, this is exactly the area that we decided to describe in this report. At this moment, we are showing a new area – this is the responsibility for such a unique corporate situation that has developed at the Zaporizhia NPP,” she explained.

In addition, Oleksandra Romantsova added that Truth Hounds is also part of the “Tribunal for putin” initiative, which systematizes such data. And this study, she noted, is important in order to “show that this is not an isolated case of one soldier or one Rosatom representative, and that this is a systemic practice that requires condemnation and the actual reactions of various international actors – from states to such associations as, for example, the IAEA, as well as the reactions of other businesses that order some services from Rosatom” .

BrainHub is the country’s main discussion platform created by Media Center Ukraine – Ukrinform. It brings together experts from the state and civil society sectors. BrainHub hosts intellectual discussions around the issues of the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine. It’s the birthplace of the best ideas that will become the foundation for the road map of Ukraine’s reconstruction in all sectors: economy, infrastructure, education, agriculture, security, digital, etc. 

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