Before returning the body of the Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna, who died in a Russian detention center, to Ukraine, some of her internal organs were removed, discovered «Important Stories» as part of an international investigation. The authorities might have tried to hide traces of violence and torture, believes a forensic expert — the Russian side sometimes returns bodies to Ukraine without organs.
As journalists found out, Roshchyna's body was given to Ukraine as part of an exchange back in February 2025 as the body of an unidentified man.
«The body of the deceased showed numerous signs of torture and mistreatment, in particular abrasions and hemorrhages on various parts of the body, a broken rib, neck damage, and possible traces of electric shock on the feet. However, due to the condition of the body, experts have not yet been able to determine the cause of death», — described the results of the forensic examination representative of the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office Yuriy Belousov.
Some organs were missing from the body: eyeballs, brain, part of the larynx, and the hyoid bone was broken, said a source close to the investigation into Viktoria Roshchyna's death.
The forensic expert suggested that the removal of specific organs might be an attempt to hide suffocation: «Removing the larynx during an autopsy is an unusual practice. The larynx can be good evidence of suffocation. When a person is strangled, the hyoid bone most often breaks. During suffocation, bleeding can be found in the whites of the eyes, and in the brain — a lack of oxygen».
A source in the Ukrainian security forces said that Russia sometimes returns the bodies of Ukrainians without internal organs, explaining this by protocols for handling bodies, but the reason could also be an attempt to hide traces of torture.
Viktoria Roshchyna disappeared in the Russian-occupied territory of Ukraine in August 2023. The journalist worked for the publication «Ukrainian Pravda» as a freelance author. At the time of her disappearance, she was preparing a report from the occupied territory. The editorial office does not know exactly where she was at the time of her disappearance. In March 2022, Roshchyna was already detained by the FSB in occupied Berdyansk, but she was released ten days later.
On May 28, 2024, the Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed for the first time that she was being held in custody, and in October it became known about her death. The Russian authorities reported that she died during the transfer from Taganrog to Moscow.
* Recognized in Russia as a «foreign agent» and «undesirable» organization.
Photo: AFP