DONETSK, September 9. /TASS/. Forensic experts in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) have registered a natural cause of death for British mercenary Paul Urey, who had been in custody in the republic, DPR ombudsman Daria Morozova said Thursday.
Morozova called out earlier statements by the Ukrainian parliament’s commissioner for human rights, Dmitry Lubinets, as falsehoods that traces of torture had been discovered on the body of late British national Urey.
"Allegations made by Supreme Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmitry Lubinets on the supposedly discovered traces of torture on Paul Urey’s body can be viewed as a provocation," she wrote on her Telegram channel.
"We can certainly assume that the new Ukrainian ombudsman, having no medical education background, mistook postmortem changes for traces of violence. However, his commentaries don’t put him in any good light," Morozova said.
She added that Urey’s body was recently handed over to the Ukrainian side and there were no intravital injuries discovered on his body, which can be proven by documented pictures of the forensic examination.
Morozova also pointed out that two months went by since the DPR authorities publicly announced the death of the imprisoned foreigner, having informed international organizations as well as the Ukrainian and British authorities.
"While our opponents were thinking over their next moves under the current conditions, the body was stored in the morgue of Donetsk," she revealed.
On July 28, DPR Foreign Minister Natalya Nikonorova said that neither the British authorities nor Urey’s family made any requests concerning his body. Urey, who was kept in a local penal facility, died on July 10.
Nikonorova said at that time that the British mercenary had been diagnosed with a number of chronic illnesses during his first medical checkup. They included type 1 diabetes, respiratory issues and kidney disorders, as well as cardiovascular diseases. He was provided with all the needed medical assistance. Nikonorova said that he had died from coronary failure complicated by pulmonary edema and brain swelling.