Russian forces have been forcibly relocating Ukrainian civilians, including those fleeing hostilities, to territories under their control since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to a report published on Thursday by the non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch (HRW).

The forced displacement “is a serious violation of the laws of war and constitutes a war crime and a possible crime against humanity,” HRW said, according to AFP and Agerpres.

The organization interviewed 54 people who have traveled to Russia or know people who have traveled to Russia. Some of them also helped Ukrainians trying to leave Russia.

Many of the forcibly displaced people were fleeing the city of Mariupol, a port city in southeastern Ukraine that suffered a devastating siege and brutal bombing before being occupied by Russian forces. Others came from the Kharkiv region in the east of Ukraine.

“Of course, we would risk going to Ukraine if we could,” a woman who was taken to Mariupol told HRW. “But we had no choice, there was no possibility to go” to territories controlled by Kyiv, she said.

“Ukrainian civilians should have another chance than going to Russia,” said Belkis Ville, a Human Rights Watch researcher and co-author of the report.

HRW: “Filter” targeting citizens of Ukraine is “punitive and offensive, has no legal basis”

According to the report, many civilians were subjected to a form of mandatory security screening called “screening,” which involved the collection of biometric data and fingerprints, searches and searches of personal belongings.

“For security reasons, no one should be forced to undergo a brutal inspection,” Ville added.

A resident of Mariupol told HRW that he was detained by Russian forces and then placed in a school with dozens of other Mariupol residents in unsanitary conditions for two weeks before he could pass through the “filter”.

“We felt like hostages,” he told HRW.

The “filter” targeting Ukrainian citizens is “punitive and offensive”, “has no legal basis” and is “a clear violation of the right to private life”, HRW explained.

On July 5, the public organization sent its conclusions and a summary of questions to the Russian authorities, but did not receive a response.

• Read also: Human Rights Watch accuses Russia of torturing and abducting civilians in southern Ukraine: occupied territories, an abyss of fear and anarchy

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