Dossier

Yahidne: a village in a school basement

Yahidne, Chernihiv region · 3–30 March 2022

Dossier

Yahidne: a village in a school basementYahidne, Chernihiv region · 3–30 March 2022

The school in Yahidne whose basement held the village for 28 days. Photo: Enno Lenze · 2023-06-29 · CC BY 2.0 · original ↗

365

civilians confined in the school basement for 28 days, 70 of them children A

older persons died during the confinement; their names were written on the basement wall A

For 28 days Russian troops held almost the whole population of a village — about 365 people, 70 of them children, the youngest six weeks old — in the 197 m² basement of the school they used as their headquarters. Ten elderly people died in the dark. The Commission of Inquiry called it inhuman treatment and a war crime; Ukrainian courts have convicted 16 servicemen in absentia and charged the brigade's general.

Inhuman treatment and unlawful confinement, war crime — established (CoI) Civilians used to shield positions — pattern Command responsibility of the 55th Brigade and 41st Army — position

Russia said. Sergei Lavrov · Foreign Minister · BBC interview, 16–17 Jun 2022: “UN officials are under Western pressure and act as a mouthpiece for Western fakes.” — The UN went to the basement. The Commission of Inquiry visited the basement and saw the names of the dead on the wall (A/77/533, para. 79). Its figures match those of a Ukrainian court that heard 84 victims and of Human Rights Watch, which interviewed 13 former detainees. The 'fake' consists of a room with 365 people's names and dates in it.

Evidence held: High Commissioner for Human Rights, Human Rights Council special session, 12 May 2022; Commission of Inquiry, A/77/533 (18 Oct 2022), paras. 54, 78, 79, 102; Chernihiv regional prosecutor, 22 May 2022; Chernihiv District Court, 11 Mar 2024.

Photo & video · 7 photos

The school in Yahidne whose basement held the village for 28 days