Body of journalist who died in Russian captivity shows signs of torture, Ukraine says

PHOTO CAPTION: Journalist Viktoria Roshchina (Courtesy photo by Hromadske via Committee to Protect Journalists)

(Reuters) -     Ukraine said on Thursday it identified the body of journalist Viktoria Roshchyna, who had died in Russian captivity, and a forensic medical examination revealed signs of torture and ill-treatment.

Viktoria Roshchyna died at the age of 27 last September after spending months in captivity. 

The Russian defence ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

The journalist, whose first-hand reports provided a glimpse into life under Russian occupation early in Moscow's invasion, went missing in August 2023 during a reporting trip to Russia-held eastern Ukraine.

The body of the journalist was discovered among bodies that Russia handed over to Ukraine in February, Ukraine's prosecutor general's office said on Thursday.

"A tag with the surname Roshchyna was found on one of them," it said in a statement. The DNA tests showed that chances the body belonged to Roshchyna were over 99%, and additional tests are being carried out with the help of French specialists, it said.

Roshchyna's family learned about her death last year from a letter from Russia's defence ministry, Reuters previously reported citing the campaign group Reporters Without Borders. It said she had died on September 19.

Ukrainian forensic experts were unable to determine the cause of death, but found signs of injuries and possible torture, Yurii Bielousov, head of the war crimes department for Ukraine's prosecutor general, said on Thursday.

"According to the results of the forensic medical examination, numerous signs of torture and ill-treatment were found on the victim's body, in particular, abrasions and hemorrhages on various parts of the body, and a rib was broken," he said in a video released by Ukrainian media outlet Ukrainska Pravda. 

 (Reporting by Maria Tsvetkova and Yuliia Dysa; Editing by Daniel Wallis)