More than 2,400 soldiers from the Azov regiment of the Ukrainian national guard and other military units surrendered under orders from Ukraine’s military in May. They spent months holed up with civilians at the giant Azovstal steel mill in the strategically important southern port city. Their resistance during a relentless Russian bombardment became a symbol of Ukrainian defiance against Russia’s aggression. Mariupol soldiers 'saved Ukraine' by keeping Russian troops occupied in the south. Scores of Ukrainian soldiers have been taken to prisons in Russian-controlled areas. Ukraine’s defence ministry claimed on Wednesday that Ukrainian captives at the prison had been subject to “bullying, physical humiliation, and psychological demoralisation” in an attempt to coerce them into starring in pro-Russian propaganda videos. Though the Azov prisoners have not yet been formally charged, on August 2 Supreme Court of Russian Federation ruled the regiment was a terrorist organization, clearing the way for captured fighters to be charged as such. And just few days ago, on August 11, the head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, Denis Pushilin told reporters, that the first tribunal of captured personnel from Azov Regiment will be organized by the end of the summer, likely in the city of Mariupol. While Russia regularly cites Azov in support of its assertion that Ukraine is controlled by «fascists», the Azov captives are prisoners of war, deserving of protection under the Geneva Convention. In the case of an execution without a fair and regular trial, Russia will be in grave violation of the Geneva Convention and international humanitarian law and must be held criminally responsible as a state. "Human rights violations that are committed until mid-September 2022, and for which Russia is responsible ... could be taken to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)," explains Binder. That would apply to the torture and execution of fighters from the Azov Battalion. @juliepelipas 💔💔 #russiaisaterroriststate