The body of Victoria Roshchyna, a Ukrainian journalist who was abducted and later killed, was returned to Ukraine with her brain, eyes, and larynx missing, as per a recent investigation. The report indicates that these organs may have been removed to hide the extent of the torture she suffered. Roshchyna vanished in August 2023 from territories in Ukraine under Russian control. Her remains were repatriated in February, two and a half years later.
The body was incorrectly labeled as an “unidentified male” during an exchange of 757 Ukrainian remains. The report also pointed out an unusual Russian marking, “SPAS,” on the listing, which could potentially suggest “total arterial damage to the heart” as the official cause of death. Roshchyna’s body was noticeably smaller and lighter than the others returned, the report emphasized.
The investigation, released by Forbidden Stories on Tuesday, proposed that the mutilation of the body could have been an effort to conceal the severity of the torture she endured while in Russian custody. Despite the removal of organs, the body showed clear signs of torture, including abrasions, hemorrhages, a broken rib, and potential evidence of electric shocks, according to Yuriy Belousov, the head of the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office’s war crimes department. The report also noted a bruise on her neck, possibly indicating strangulation.
The official cause of death remains undetermined due to the mummified state of the body. Ukraine’s Office of the Prosecutor General is organizing further tests, and Roshchyna’s father has requested additional foreign examinations.
Russia confirmed Roshchyna’s detention in May 2024, nine months after her disappearance. She was reportedly held in a notorious penal colony in Berdyansk, eastern Ukraine, known for its harsh treatment of Ukrainians, according to the Media Initiative for Human Rights.
Roshchyna, who wrote for several Ukrainian outlets and Radio Free Europe, spent time in a pre-trial detention center in Taganrog, Russia, before dying during transportation to Moscow. She had previously been detained by the Russians for 10 days at the onset of the war in March 2022, earning her the International Women’s Media Foundation’s 2022 Courage in Journalism Award.