Video of Kadyrov's talk to Ukrainian POWs sparks lawyers' questions

If the video of the meeting of the head of Chechnya with Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) was recorded without their consent, then this violates the POWs' rights, and the transportation of them is unacceptable without the escort of the military police, lawyers pointed out.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that three Ukrainian POWs were brought to Grozny by decision of Ramzan Kadyrov's minor children.

A video about Kadyrov's meeting with the Ukrainian POWs has been posted on the "Vesti" website.

Maxim Grebenyuk, a lawyer and an expert in the military law, has stressed that if the video recording was made without the POWs' consent, then this violates their rights, regulated by the "Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War." "POWs should give their written consent to filming the video and posting thereof in the public domain," Mr Grebenyuk has explained, adding that POWs should be transported only accompanied by the military police or other specialized bodies.

His conclusions were confirmed by Valentina Melnikova, the head of the Union of Committees of Soldiers' Mothers. "The state is responsible for POWs since the moment they are taken; responsible for their lives, custody conditions and health ... They must be transported under a convoy of the military police," she said.

According to Ms Melnikova, the transfer of POWs to Grozny in itself is not a violation of their rights. "Their rights were violated if the video was filmed without their consent ... The fact that they were filmed and publicized, it seems to me, was done with their consent. From the moral viewpoint, the release of the report is good. Their relatives will see that they are alive and OK," she has added.

According to her story, the answer to the question why the decision was made to transport them specifically to Grozny is of some interest.