The Geneva Conventions apply to the Ukrainian fighters captured at Mariupol, experts say.

The Ukrainian fighters who surrendered to Russian forces at a steel plant in the southern city of Mariupol are entitled to protection under the Geneva Conventions as prisoners of war, legal experts said on Wednesday, noting that they had fallen into enemy hands during an international conflict.

Under the conventions, prisoners of war must be treated humanely and be protected from violence and intimidation, as well as sheltered and provided with food, clothing and medical care. The International Committee of the Red Cross has a right to visit prisoners of war to make sure that the conventions are upheld.

Nearly 1,000 fighters surrendered at the Azovstal steel complex this week, and some Russian officials have been calling for them to be treated as war criminals.

“On the facts of it, these are P.O.W.s and any other determination would not be possible,” said a lawyer at Human Rights Watch. Read more

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