The United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation, Mariana Katzarova, has condemned the violence perpetrated by former Russian convicts against women and children upon their return from Ukraine. During a press conference held on Monday, Katzarova reported that an estimated 170,000 convicted violent criminals who were recruited to fight in Ukraine and offered pardons and shortened sentences in exchange for their service have become perpetrators of new violent crimes, including sexual violence and killings, contributing to the rising violence against women in Russia.
Katzarova emphasized the lack of legal frameworks in Russia to distinctly criminalize domestic violence or gender-based violence. She highlighted a particularly detrimental situation in the North Caucasus, where women and girls face forced marriages, honor killings, and female genital mutilation. Condemning the Russian authorities’ inaction, Katzarova noted that thousands of women die each year from domestic violence.
The Special Rapporteur connected the emerging trend of violence perpetrated by former convicts to an official policy of the Russian Ministry of Defense enacted earlier this year, which permits the recruitment of convicted criminals to the military. Detailing these issues in her September 2023 report on the human rights situation in Russia, Katzarova asserted that “we cannot look at the human rights situation in Russia without seeing the stark link between aggression abroad and repression at home.”
Further details on the impact of this violence can be accessed here.