Ukraine says Amnesty International used testimonies from “filtration camps” in occupied territories for its report on the Ukrainian Armed Forces

The report by the human rights organization Amnesty International on violations of the laws of war by the Ukrainian army included testimonies from people who ended up in prisons or “filtration camps” in the occupied territories of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Center for Strategic Communications stated.

As the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security has learned, independent journalists and volunteers in the Nikolaev, Kharkiv, Donetsk and Luhansk regions were involved in the process of collecting testimony.

At the same time, most of the materials for the report were obtained during a survey of people evacuated to temporarily uncontrolled territories of Ukraine: the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions or Crimea.

In particular, the material was collected on the territory of filtration camps and prisons; the survey was conducted among those “willing” to provide this type of information.

The Center for Strategic Communications stated that the information obtained in this way should not have been used by Amnesty International, as it was provided by people who were under pressure from Russian representatives.

Sometimes such a “correct” interview was the only chance to pass the filter and leave the occupied territories.

In addition, the materials collected by journalists and hired volunteers were also checked by the administrations of institutions and, in some cases, by employees of the FSB of the Russian Federation.

• Amnesty International's report , published on August 4, said the Ukrainian Armed Forces were establishing bases in residential areas, including schools and hospitals, in violation of humanitarian law and the laws of war. The organization noted that such practices "in no way justify Russia's indiscriminate attacks."
• In Ukraine, the Amnesty report has sparked outrage among politicians, human rights activists, and journalists. The country's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, accused the organization of "immoral selectivity." Amnesty's Ukrainian office said it had not participated in the report's creation. The head of the office, Oksana Pokalchuk, resigned after the report's release, saying that she and Amnesty's leadership "had diverged in values."
• On August 7, the organization said it did not retract the information contained in the report, but regretted "the pain caused."