Human rights NGOs call on Austria to investigate sexual crimes committed by the Russian military in Ukraine – JURIST

The Clooney Foundation for Justice (CFJ), an organization led by human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, and the Centre for the Enforcement of Human Rights International (CEHRI), a nonprofit organization that advocates for accountability for international crimes, filed a lawsuit in Austria on Monday demanding investigations into sexual violence and murder by Russian soldiers in Ukraine.

The organizations represent two women who were raped by Russian soldiers at the beginning of the 2022 Russo-Ukrainian War and have presented evidence against the two soldiers and seven other men who are commanders. According to the organizationsOne of these women’s husbands was shot when he tried to intervene. The CFJ said: “The crimes were committed as part of a widespread and systematic pattern of human rights violations against civilians in the territories occupied by Russian forces, which has been extensively documented by UN bodies and other organizations.”

The evidence comes from investigations inside Ukraine, such as visits to the villages where the crimes took place, interviews with witnesses and Ukrainian law enforcement, and observation of evidence left by soldiers liberating the Kyiv region that allowed the identification of the Russian soldiers. The organizations’ investigations were supported by open-source intelligence analyzing Russian military communications networks and their movement into Ukraine, satellite imagery, and reported cases of human rights violations to establish patterns of abuse.

The case was referred to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine. The case was brought in Austria under universal jurisdiction, which allows states to prosecute serious crimes under international law regardless of the place where the crime was committed or the nationality of those involved.

Previously, in 2022, CFJ filed complaints with the German Federal Prosecutor’s Office, calling for an urgent investigation into Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine. Both organizations support victims of human rights violations, including war crimes and sexual violence.

The UN Commission of Ukraine found that in 2023, women between the ages of 15 and 83 were victims of rape and sexual violence in connection with the Russian-Ukrainian war, and in 2024, Ukrainian prosecutors reported 298 cases of sexual violence and rape, of which 109 victims were men and 189 women, including minors.