Clooney Foundation for Justice calls for Austrian investigation into war crimes in Ukraine

The Center for the Enforcement of Human Rights International (CEHRI) and the Clooney Foundation for Justice (CFJ) today filed a complaint with the Austrian Federal Prosecutor’s Office requesting an investigation into crimes of sexual violence and murder committed by Russian forces in Ukraine.

The organizations presented detailed evidence against the perpetrators and represent two women who were raped by Russian soldiers who occupied their village in the Kyiv area at the beginning of the large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine that began in February 2022.

“This case is first and foremost a testament to the incredible courage of the two Ukrainian women who decided to speak out and demand justice,” said Anya Neistat, legal director of The Docket. “Perpetrators of sexual violence assume that the silence of victims will protect them from accountability. In this case, their victims are determined to prove them wrong.”

“Olena” and “Olha” (names changed) were taken from their homes at night by drunken Russian soldiers accompanied by their commander. The soldiers came to Olena’s house first.

When she asked if the soldiers would kill her, the commander replied that she had nothing to fear because “the boys just want to have a little fun.”

The soldiers then went to Olha’s house. When her husband tried to stop them from taking her away, the soldiers shot him on the spot.

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After repeated rapes and other forms of sexual abuse, both women managed to escape and return to their homes. A few weeks later, Ukrainian troops liberated the village. One of the women stayed in the village, the other fled to Austria.

The crimes were part of a broad and systematic pattern of human rights violations against civilians in the territories occupied by Russian forces, which have been extensively documented by UN bodies and other organizations.

The proceedings are directed against the immediate perpetrators as well as seven mid- and high-ranking commanders who were identified as suspects by the CFJ’s Docket Initiative, which works to prosecute atrocity crimes around the world.

The case includes detailed evidence gathered by The Docket during on-the-ground investigations in Ukraine, as well as a comprehensive analysis of open-source data used to gather information on individual perpetrators, command structures, and other supporting evidence.

In October 2023, The Docket filed three cases on other patterns of crimes committed in Ukraine with the German Federal Prosecutor’s Office, requesting an investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine. The Docket also referred the investigation files to the International Criminal Court.

CEHRI, an Austrian non-profit organisation, has conducted a detailed legal analysis which shows that, based on extraterritorial jurisdiction principles, Austria has the jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute these crimes as war crimes and crimes against humanity before Austrian national courts.

This includes the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows states to investigate and prosecute the most serious international crimes, regardless of where they were committed or the nationality of the perpetrators or victims. This principle is based on the understanding that such crimes concern the international community as a whole.

Based on the compelling evidence against specific perpetrators, CEHRI and CFJ call on the Austrian authorities to open a criminal investigation and issue arrest warrants against the suspects, which would allow for their arrest, extradition and prosecution. The arrest warrants can be executed in countries outside Austria through the Europol and Interpol systems.

“We are honored to represent the Ukrainian survivors in this groundbreaking case – the first of its kind in Austria,” said Tatiana Urdaneta, founding member of CEHRI. “We now hope that prosecutors will act promptly to move the case forward.”

Further information, including our methodology and the Austrian jurisdiction in this case, can be found here.

About the Clooney Foundation for Justice Docket Initiative

The Docket brings prosecutions against perpetrators of war crimes and mass atrocities and represents survivors in their pursuit of justice. The Docket seeks to hold human rights abusers accountable to survivors, victims and their families. Its work takes place in conflict zones and courtrooms.

The Docket collects evidence of international crimes and uses that evidence to trigger official investigations and prosecutions by international, regional or national courts. The Docket represents and supports survivors, witnesses and families of victims in court, helping them tell their stories and gain legal accountability.

About the Centre for the Enforcement of Human Rights International (CEHRI):

CEHRI is an Austrian non-profit organization focused on strategic litigation in the areas of poverty alleviation, the environment, human rights and international crimes. CEHRI’s work is victim-centered and based on two pillars: legal and psychosocial support, enabling survivors to actively participate in legal decisions and to testify while protecting their well-being and achieving therapeutic justice. CEHRI contributes to the fight against impunity by representing survivors of human rights violations in Syria, Sudan, Iran and today in Ukraine.

For more information about The Docket’s work, see: click Here.

Survivors and victims can contact The Docket by email: (email protected)

For press inquiries please contact (email protected).

For further insights into CEHRI’s work and mission, please visit our website: http://www.cehri.org.

For general questions please contact (email protected).

For press inquiries please contact (email protected)