Female Civilian Captives: Rights Violations, Return, and Justice for Ukrainians

More than 20,000 Ukrainian civilians are currently held in Russian captivity, including over 2,000 women. Although Russia refuses to acknowledge holding civilians, they are detained under the same conditions as prisoners of war, without legal status or protection.

This event brings together former civilian captives, journalists, and human rights defenders to discuss the scale of civilian detention, violations of basic rights, the path to return, and the pursuit of justice and reparations.

Speakers:

• Liudmyla Huseinova, Human rights defender, former civilian captive, and head of the NGO "Numo, Sisters!", a survivor-led organization supporting women affected by captivity and conflict-related abuses while documenting war crimes and advocating for justice and return.
• Lina Kushch, First Secretary of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, displaced since 2014, and a leading voice on press freedom during wartime.
• Yuliia Dvornichenko, Former civilian captive held for nearly two years and separated from her children during detention. She speaks about the impact of captivity on families.
• Oksana Hrynychenko, Ukrainian journalist displaced from eastern Ukraine who experienced arbitrary detention and continues to report on the war’s impact on civilians

The discussion will be moderated by Yousur Al-Hlou, Nieman Fellow at Harvard and Pulitzer Prize-winning visual journalist who has documented war crimes and their impact on civilians in Syria, Gaza, and Ukraine.