UN rights body tells Ukraine to halt torture

GENEVA, Nov 3 (Reuters) The United Nations Human Rights Committee called on Ukraine today to halt torture of detainees and ''hazing'' in the armed forces -- which have led to fatalities -- and to investigate the murders of journalists.

The ex-Soviet republic must also clamp down on anti-Semitic activities and theft of property from Muslim mosques, it said.

These were among recommendations issued by the committee's 18 independent experts who also examined the civil and political rights' records of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Honduras and South Korea during a three-week meeting.

Detainees are tortured and mistreated in Ukraine, leading to three known fatal beatings since 2004, it said, urging Kiev to ensure the safety of those held in custody, to set up an independent complaints body and to videotape interrogations.

Prison facilities are gravely overcrowded and lack adequate sanitation, light, food, medical care and facilities for physical exercise, according to the committee.

''The detention conditions are absolutely deplorable,'' committee chairwoman Christine Chanet told a news briefing.

The committee said members of the Jewish community had suffered physical assaults, including attacks on Jewish students, and a rabbi and his son in Kiev. It also cited unresolved claims for restitution of Muslim religious property.

Ukraine should ensure that all members of ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities, including the Tatars, are protected against violence and discrimination, the committee said.

It cited the killings of at least three journalists since 2000 and harassment against reporters as a threat to freedom of the press, and said Ukraine should ''vigorously investigate and prosecute attacks against journalists''.

New recruits in Ukraine's armed forces are still subject to hazing, including violent acts, according to the committee which said that a soldier had died after hazing in January 2005.

REUTERS PDM BD2143