The Clooney Foundation "For Justice" and the Austrian human rights organization "International Center for the Strengthening of Human Rights" submitted to the Vienna prosecutorʼs office a case about a war crime by the Russian military, namely sexual violence, which they committed in the Kyiv region in 2022.
This is stated in the joint press release of both organizations, the text of which is at the disposal of Babel.
The organizations represent two victimized women from one of the villages in the Kyiv region, which fell under occupation. Olena and Olha (names have been changed) were taken from their homes one night by drunken Russian soldiers accompanied by their commander. First, the soldiers came to Olena. When she asked if they would kill her, the commander replied that she had nothing to fear, because "the boys just want to have fun." Then the soldiers went to Olhaʼs house. When her husband tried to stop them from taking her away, the soldiers shot him on the spot.
After repeated rape and other forms of sexual violence, both women managed to escape and return home, and within a few weeks Ukrainian forces liberated the village. One of the women remained in the village.
The experts of the initiative of the Clooney Foundation (”The Docket”) collected evidence, were able to establish the direct perpetrators of the crimes, as well as seven middle and higher level commanders and are asking to start an investigation against them.
"This case is first of all a testament to the incredible courage of two Ukrainian women who decided to speak out and seek justice. The perpetrators of sexual violence assume that the silence of the victims will protect them from responsibility. In this case, their victims are determined to prove them wrong," said Anna Neistat, legal director of “The Docket”.
“The Docket” team carefully collected evidence according to international standards: they visited the village several times, conducted interviews with victims, eyewitnesses, local officials and law enforcement officers, examined, in particular, the documents that the Russians left behind when they fled Kyiv region, and also the inscriptions they left on the walls. Information from these documents, among other things, made it possible to identify Russian units and commands. The team also investigated other materials. They handed all this over to the Austrian prosecutorʼs office. CEHRI and “The Docket” also provided prosecutors with a list of witnesses and experts who agreed to participate in the proceedings.
“The Docket” also shared the dossier with the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court so that the evidence could be included in the officeʼs ongoing investigation into the situation in Ukraine.
Why Austria?
The case was transferred to the Austrian Prosecutorʼs Office, since the principle of universal jurisdiction applies in Austria — that is, it can investigate serious international crimes, even if they were not committed in Austria, were not Austrian citizens, and the victims were not Austrian either. But under Austrian law, the principle of universal jurisdiction depends on the presence of the suspect on the territory of Austria. However, this restriction does not apply to sexual and gender-based crimes. In such cases, the permanent residence of the victims in Austria is sufficient to establish jurisdiction – one of the victims currently lives in Austria.