An international investigation has revealed that the body of a Ukrainian journalist was returned from captivity without her eyes or brain.
Viktoria Roshchyna's body was sent back to Kyiv in February after she disappeared into an unofficial detention centre in Rostov, Russia, in August 2023.
According to Mail Online, her body was initially mislabelled as an 'unidentified male' and returned as part of an exchange with Russia. DNA tests later confirmed it was the missing journalist.
Forensic experts discovered the body had been tortured and mutilated. Her eyeballs, brain, and part of her throat had been removed.
Her head was shaved, her neck bruised, and a tag with her surname was attached to her shin. Her feet also had burn marks, according to officials involved in an ongoing investigation by the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office.
Medical examiners found that Roshchyna had a broken rib and possible signs of electric shock. Ukrainian authorities only announced the return of her body on April 24.
A DNA test confirmed the body belonged to the 27-year-old journalist who had vanished into the Russian prison system after being detained while reporting on claims of unofficial detention centres in August 2023.
Roshchyna is the first Ukrainian journalist to die in Russian captivity. She was first reported dead on October 2nd. However, her father, Volodymyr Roshchyn, held onto hope until her body was returned and identified.
The journalist spent most of her time in detention at the Taganrog SIZO-2 prison in Rostov, also known as Russia's Guantanamo, named after the United States military prison, Guantanamo Bay detention camp.
The investigation into her death revealed that the reporter was held incommunicado during her captivity in Russia, which is a serious human rights violation under international law.
After initially being held in the cities of Enerhodar and Melitopol, Roshchyna was transferred to the Taganrog detention centre run by Russia's Federal Security Service in critical condition.
She reportedly told a cellmate that she refused a deal offered by a serviceman transporting her because 'she always stuck to her principles'.
On October 10th, Roshchyna's father received a letter from Russia announcing her death, although it did not explain how she died.