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Russian national’s death in Ukrainian prison caused by torture, says envoy

Russian citizen Valery Ivanov has died in a Ukrainian prison

© Stanislav Krasilnikov/TASS

MOSCOW, February 1. /TASS/. Forensic examination has revealed that the death of Russian citizen Valery Ivanov in a Ukrainian prison had been caused by torture, Russia’s envoy to the Contact Group on the settlement in the Donbass region Boris Gryzlov told reporters on Friday.

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"Valery Ivanov’s death was not an accident. Forensic tests have revealed that it had been caused by torture. The lives of the people held by Ukraine are in danger. The Russian delegation to the Contact Group will do its utmost to secure the return of the individuals illegally held by Ukraine," he said.

Valery Ivanov was a Russian national but lived in the Donbass region during the conflict, Gryzlov noted.

"He was one of those people whom Ukraine promised to release and return to Donbass in December 2017. Valery Ivanov was on the exchange list between Kiev and Lugansk, but Ukraine prevented his release under a false pretense. Donetsk and Lugansk honored their commitment, while Ukraine violated its obligations," he stressed.

On February 1, the Russian Investigative Committee initiated a criminal case in the wake of Ivanov’s death in a detention facility in Ukraine’s western Lvov region in December 2018.

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