Ukrainians from TOT forced to change passports, victims of crime - Lubinets
Ukrainians who live in the temporarily occupied territories and have been forced to change their passports are not considered criminals. They are victims of a crime.
This was stated by human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets.
According to him, residents of the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine are forced to take Russian passports for safety.
Forced passportization on the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine is recognized as a gross violation of international law, in particular, Article 45 of the Regulations on the Laws and Customs of War on Land, which is an annex to the Fourth Hague Convention of 18 October 1907," the ombudsman said.
Also, he said, the Ukrainian constitution provides for the recognition and amendment of a passport that was forcibly obtained.
In most cases, obtaining a pseudo-passport of an aggressor country is a forced step when it comes to preserving the life and health of a person or family members and is used to leave temporarily occupied territory via third countries," Lubinets added.
Thus, Ukrainians who have changed their passports to TOT will not be considered criminals.