“Detained without documentation, mobile phones confiscated”: lawyers document systematic human rights violations during mobilization
28 January 14:25
Systematic human rights violations are being recorded in Ukraine during mobilization measures. These include beatings of civilians, illegal detention, use of physical force and gas canisters, confiscation of personal belongings, and denial of access to lawyers to the premises of territorial recruitment centers. This was stated by lawyer Oleksandr Protas in an interview with the YouTube channel "Komersant Ukrainian".
According to him, he regularly receives complaints from citizens reporting acts of violence by representatives of the territorial recruitment centers.
“I regularly receive reports that people have been grabbed, beaten, or sprayed with gas,” the lawyer said.
According to Protas, these are not isolated incidents, but a recurring practice that is systematic in nature. He claims that people are detained without any procedural documents being drawn up, their mobile phones are immediately confiscated, which violates their right to free communication, and then, in response to official inquiries, it is stated that the person allegedly arrived at the TCC voluntarily.
“You end up in any TCC in Kyiv — there are no exceptions. They immediately tell you to hand over your phone. This is a violation of the human right to free communication,” Protas emphasized.
He adds that state bodies systematically use false statements in their responses to lawyers’ inquiries.
“The answer is always the same: he came to us on his own. Lying has become a trend among our state authorities,” the lawyer said.
Separately, Protas recounted the case of a man being beaten at the Svyatoshinsky TCC in October 2025. According to him, the man was forcibly detained, taken to the TCC without any protocols being drawn up and without the opportunity to contact a lawyer.
The victim suffered moderate bodily harm, which was documented by medical personnel. The lawyer himself tried to enter the TCC premises to provide legal assistance, but he was not allowed in, despite having a contract with the client.
“In all this time, I have only been allowed in (to the TCC building, ed.) on two occasions. In all other cases, they do not let me in,” he said.
Protas emphasizes that the right to defense, guaranteed by Article 59 of the Constitution of Ukraine, applies even under martial law, and the TCC premises are not restricted or secret facilities.
“Name at least one legal basis on which a lawyer cannot enter the premises of the TCC. There is no such basis,” the lawyer emphasized.
According to him, in the aforementioned case, the fact of violence was confirmed not only by doctors, but also by a representative of the Military Law Enforcement Service.
“Four employees of the Svyatoshinsky TCC tied up the man on the second floor and kicked him,” Protas said.
In addition, according to the lawyer, the victim’s expensive mobile phone was stolen and never returned, and the ambulance was not allowed to leave the TCC premises for more than two hours after the beatings were recorded.
Despite this, according to Protas, the TCC denies the fact of the beating in its responses, and the man himself is again presented as having “arrived voluntarily.”
The lawyer also drew attention to the fact that Ukraine ratified the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance in 2015, which directly concerns the actions of state representatives.
“When such actions are systematic and widespread, they are no longer isolated crimes, but crimes against humanity,” Protas emphasized.
He stresses that such crimes have no statute of limitations and that responsibility for them can be incurred at both the national and international levels.
“Sooner or later, the time will come. All those who give such orders or carry them out will be found guilty,” the lawyer concluded.
