The absolute prohibition of torture is an unconditional and immeasurably important idea of modern constitutionalism and international human rights law. It is not merely a norm enshrined in Article 3 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, but also the philosophical foundation of the functioning of the modern state: a…
Category: Ukraine
“Proper” Torture: How Ukrainian Society Is Learning to Justify Torture, or the Case of the Odesa Detention Center as a Window into the Abyss
The incident that occurred in the Odesa pre-trial detention centre (SIZO) and that, in a very strange way, came to light and drew the attention of the entire society, is telling and extremely important. Not because it is unique – on the contrary, because it is mundane. It demonstrates the abyss that Ukrainian society has…
Absolute Prohibition in Relative Application: Institutional Impunity for Torture in Ukraine (2022–2026)
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has fundamentally transformed the country’s social and legal landscape. Yet what proved truly alarming was not only the external aggressor — inside the state itself, mechanisms of violence inherited from previous decades continued to operate. Torture in police stations, abuse in penitentiary facilities, beatings of conscripts within Territorial Recruitment and…
Tetiana Melnychuk: Rule of Law or Rule of Security – Rethinking Legal Responses еo Organised Crime Amid Hybrid Threats
Organised crime in today’s world is evolving into a decentralised and technologically sophisticated phenomenon, more capable than ever before of penetrating strategically important sectors of public administration, the economy and infrastructure, and of adapting to social crises. At the same time, the distinctions between traditional organised crime and more complex hybrid threats, such as political…
Rent on Prohibition of Sex Work: How State Generates Police Corruption
On 20 May 2026, the Office of the Prosecutor General and the Security Service of Ukraine conducted a large-scale anti-corruption operation targeting the National Police of Ukraine. Investigative actions were carried out simultaneously across three regional police departments – Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, and Zhytomyr oblasts. Five individuals were served with notices of suspicion: the head and…
The Kyiv Tragedy of 18 April 2026: A Criminological and Human Rights Analysis
Holosiivskyi district of Kyiv. A typical Saturday. A busy supermarket. An armed man opens fire on the crowd, then barricades himself inside the building, taking hostages. The result: six dead, over 15 wounded, including a child. A raid was carried out by KORD special forces, and the attacker was neutralised. The weapon used by the…
Dmytro Yagunov: Crime and Social Control in Ukraine 2013-2025: Analysis of Transformation Under War Conditions
This study examines crime trends in Ukraine from 2013 to 2025, with particular focus on the impact of Russia’s full-scale invasion beginning February 2022. The analysis reveals that Ukraine represents the first testing ground for studying modern warfare’s impact on a contemporary democratic state operating under European legal frameworks. Pre-war (2013-2021), Ukraine demonstrated consistent crime…
Crimes Committed with Firearms and Explosives During Wartime: Statistical Overview for 2013–2025
The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 created conditions that might reasonably be expected to produce a dramatic surge in firearm-related crime. The massive influx of weapons, breakdown of administrative controls in certain territories, displacement of millions of civilians, and general wartime disruption would logically correlate with increased illegal firearms usage. However, Ukrainian…