In a significant development, the Clooney Foundation for Justice (CFJ) and the Centre for the Enforcement of Human Rights International (CEHRI) have jointly filed a case in Austria calling for an investigation into allegations of sexual violence and murder committed by Russian soldiers in Ukraine. The case specifically concerns two women represented by these organizations who were raped at the onset of the Russo-Ukraine War in 2022. One of the women’s husbands was reportedly shot and killed when he attempted to intervene.
The evidence presented in the case includes extensive investigations conducted within Ukraine. This involved visiting the villages where the alleged crimes occurred, interviewing witnesses and Ukrainian law enforcement officials, and analyzing remnants left behind by the soldiers when the Kyiv region was liberated. Open-source intelligence played a significant role by analyzing Russian military communications and movements, as well as satellite imagery and reported incidents of human rights violations to establish patterns of abuse. For further details, visit the CFJ’s official announcement.
This case has also been communicated to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and Ukraine’s Office of the Prosecutor General. It is being pursued under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows states to prosecute serious international crimes irrespective of where they were committed or the nationality of the perpetrators. This approach reflects a broader strategy the CFJ has employed, including filing cases with German federal prosecutors in 2022 urging investigations into similar war crimes. These efforts align with the organizations’ broader mission to aid victims of human rights violations, including war crimes and sexual violence.
According to a report from the UN Commission of Ukraine, women aged 15 to 83 have been victims of rape and sexual violence in connection with the Russo-Ukraine war. As of 2024, Ukrainian prosecutors have documented 298 cases of such violence, including 109 male and 189 female victims, some of whom are minors.
For further information, you can read the full report on this development on JURIST.