Human rights in Russia have 'significantly deteriorated' since war - UN expert

The United Nations headquarters building is pictured though a window with the UN logo in the foreground in the Manhattan borough of New York August 15, 2014. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo

GENEVA (Reuters) -The human rights situation in Russia has significantly deteriorated since it invaded Ukraine in February last year, a United Nations expert said on Monday, describing a "systematic crackdown" on civil society and calling for redress.

The report by Special Rapporteur Mariana Katzarova alleges that Russian authorities have carried out mass arbitrary arrests of critics of the war and says those detained risk death due to the "persistent use of torture and ill-treatment".