Ukraine's Anti-Torture Efforts Recognized
In a significant development, the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers has determined that Ukraine's efforts are now sufficient to close its monitoring of 11 specific torture cases. This marks the first time since 2005 that the Council has taken such action, indicating positive shifts in the country's human rights protections. By early 2026, Ukrainian courts had delivered final verdicts in 20 cases related to torture. The Prosecutor General's Office has provided detailed statistics on ongoing investigations and specific criminal proceedings concerning torture within police units, pre-trial detention centers (SIZOs), and penitentiary colonies.
Torture Case Statistics and Key Proceedings
As of early 2026, investigators are handling 1,401 active torture cases, with 704 of those initiated in 2025 alone. That year, 67 individuals were formally notified of suspicion in torture cases, and indictments were filed against 41 people. For comparison, in 2022, 56 people were notified of suspicion and 33 were indicted. Police officers account for three-quarters of all suspects in these cases. The regions with the highest number of criminal proceedings in 2025 were:
- Dnipropetrovsk Oblast (91)
- Odesa Oblast (60)
- Kyiv (53)
Additionally, at least 36 cases in 2025 involved staff from the penitentiary system.
Among notable individual cases, proceedings began in September 2025 against six employees of the Poltava SIZO on torture charges. In August 2025, prosecutors served suspicion notices to the leadership of a colony in Kharkiv Oblast for establishing a system of forced labor. A case concerning five colony staff members near Poltava, involving at least 37 victims—one of whom died—was sent to court in February 2025.
In September 2024, an indictment was filed against the leadership of the Berdyansk Correctional Colony and seven accomplices for mass torture occurring from 2016 to 2021. In a case involving a death in the Kyiv SIZO in December 2024, 14 individuals were charged: nine employees and five inmates. Two police officers in Cherkasy Oblast were sentenced to seven years in prison in 2025 for using torture to extract confessions. Two patrol officers in Zaporizhzhia received three-year sentences for abuse of power on May 9, 2025.
Further convictions in 2025 include: a police officer in Kirovohrad Oblast sentenced to four years by the Supreme Court in August; a patrol officer in Kherson Oblast given a three-year sentence on August 7; a police officer in Odesa Oblast sentenced to three and a half years on July 4 for assaulting a woman; a police officer in Khmelnytskyi Oblast sentenced to four years by the Supreme Court on April 16; and two police officers in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast each receiving five-year sentences from the Supreme Court on July 3.
The 2025 statistics on pre-trial investigation efficiency demonstrate a positive trend in the growing number of individuals held criminally accountable.
Office of the Prosecutor General
This data points to gradual reforms within Ukraine's justice system, particularly in combating torture and abuse of power by law enforcement. International recognition of Ukraine's progress in this area is crucial for rebuilding public trust in its institutions and improving the country's standing abroad. The continuation of investigations and the prosecution of those responsible remain vital steps for upholding human rights in Ukraine, especially as the country seeks closer integration with European structures.