The bodies of the teenagers killed by the Russians in Berdyansk were not given to their parents
The bodies of Tigran Ohannisyan and Nikita Khanganov, teenagers killed by the Russians six months ago in the temporarily occupied Berdyansk of the Zaporizhzhia region, have not yet been handed over to their parents.
As reported by the head of the Berdyansk city military administration, Viktoria Galitsyna, the Ukrainian authorities at the highest state level tried to return the bodies, but at the moment all attempts are in vain, and the Russians do not provide any explanations.
“The Ukrainian side appealed to the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Russian Federation Tetyana Moskalkova, but this did not lead to effective results. Ukraine also tried to involve the International Committee of the Red Cross, but it was also not possible to solve the problem,” Viktoria Galitsyna said.
Andrii Yakovlev, the lawyer of Tigran Ogannisyan’s family, says that the Russians do not return the bodies of the teenagers, probably to hide the crime, because, analyzing the wounds of the boys, which can be seen in propaganda photos and videos, it can be assumed that it was not detention, but an extrajudicial execution: “We saw the condition of the boys’ bodies when they were removed. And there it can be seen that the injuries and lesions were incompatible with life.
Photos and videos taken from a very close distance are accurate. It can be argued that this is an extrajudicial execution, carried out brutally and at close range.
No traces of detention are visible, because when they are detained, they do not shoot several shots into the heart, brain…. This suggests that it was not a detention, but something else. Accordingly, the bodies are not given, so that the investigation does not go further.
“Obviously, when the bodies are available to parents or investigative bodies, international missions, it will be clear that at least those who attacked the boys did not intend to save their lives.”
Where the bodies of Tigran and Nikita are currently located is unknown, says Andriy Yakovlev: “There were preparations for burials, then, for some unknown reason, the graves were buried. This suggests that they are not going to, at least for now, give the bodies to the earth. We also do not know exactly where the body is, but we can assume that it is in Berdyansk. We haven’t seen the boys’ death certificates either.”
Andriy Yakovlev says that it is not known which final version of the death of the boys the Russians adhere to, because they had several of them: “At first, the Russian authorities said that they eliminated saboteurs, then that it was suicide. What they are investigating does not match the claims that were made from the beginning. They are such formalists: they conduct investigations, court procedures, received some kind of decision, and probably will write that the boys attacked themselves, a tragedy occurred as a result of the clash.
It is unlikely that they will describe everything that we saw in propaganda photos and videos.” In Ukraine, law enforcement officers initiated criminal proceedings for the murder of children, the case was classified under Art. 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine “Violation of the Laws and Customs of War”, however, it is currently not progressing, notes Andriy Yakovlev.
It is not known whether the Russian authorities will return the bodies of Tigran and Nikita to their parents: “We do not have enough evidence to prove murder, extrajudicial execution, the commission of a war crime. We cannot verify them, because we see everything only from the propaganda video. We were not there directly. I would like to gather more evidence and understand what happened before that.” What is known about the murder of Tigran Ohannisyan and Nikita Khanganov.
The Russians accused the boys of anti-Russian activities and claimed that they were allegedly preparing sabotage on the Melitopol railway. The boys faced up to 20 years in prison. The accusation was preceded by abuse, detention and cruel torture of children and their relatives.
A few weeks before the tragedy, the Russians increased the pressure on the boys, noted the coordinator of the Media Initiative for Human Rights, Olga Reshetylova.
On June 15, the European Parliament demanded that the Russian authorities stop the process against Tigran Ohannisyan and Nikita Khanganov and allow them to leave for the territory controlled by Ukraine.
During the last days of their lives, the boys hid, but when they came home, an investigator came to them with an armed convoy and had a long conversation with Tigran, but then they managed to escape. On the day of the murder, the boys were reported to the occupation police, noted the coordinator of the Media Initiative for Human Rights, Olga Reshetylova. Half an hour before the investigator called the parents and told them that the boys had been killed, Tigran Hovhannisyanat’s mother spoke to him. The guy was calm, said that they were walking and thinking about how to celebrate Nikita Khanganov’s birthday.
The Russians said that the boys allegedly attacked the policemen and they, as a result of the firefight, killed them. On June 26, Victoria Galitsyna officially confirmed the death of Tigran and Nikita.
Volodymyr Rogov, the representative of the Russian Federation in the occupied part of the Zaporizhia region, also stated about the killing of the teenagers: “As a result of coordinated and operative actions of the law enforcement agencies, the terrorists were blocked and destroyed. Now it is known that Tigran Hovhannisyan, who was previously detained for anti-Russian activities, was one of them,” his post reads.
Dmytro Lubinets, the Human Rights Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada, said that he interprets the murder of two minor boys in Berdyansk as an extrajudicial execution. On June 27, the head of the Berdyansk city military administration, Victoria Galitsyna, reported that the parents of the dead teenagers who were killed by the Russians in Berdyansk were not allowed to see the bodies of their children.