The organization submitted detailed dossiers against the perpetrators and is representing 16 survivors and families of victims. One of the cases was filed jointly with CFJ’s long-standing partner, Ukrainian NGO Truth Hounds.
Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the team of international lawyers and investigators working at CFJ’s Docket initiative has been collecting evidence and preparing submissions detailing patterns of violations committed by Russian forces in the country.
The Docket gathers evidence of international crimes, triggers prosecutions against those who commit war crimes and mass atrocities, and represents survivors in their pursuit of justice. It has now filed the three cases so that violations committed in Ukraine can be prosecuted as war crimes and crimes against humanity in Germany under the principle of universal jurisdiction. Germany has strong national laws criminalizing such offenses and has been at the forefront of pursuing accountability for the most serious international crimes in recent decades. The dossiers have also been shared with the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to support the ICC’s efforts to bring Russia’s top leadership to justice for crimes committed in Ukraine.
“International commitment around accountability for crimes committed in Ukraine has been unprecedented since the beginning of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine,” said Anya Neistat, Legal Director of The Docket. “But it is now the time to see words turn into real action—and we are counting on German prosecutors to lead the way.”
All three cases are filed against high- and mid- level commanders whom The Docket identified as likely suspects. Each case contains detailed evidence gathered by The Docket during multiple field investigations in Ukraine as well as extensive analysis of open-source data used to collect information about individual perpetrators and command structures and other supporting evidence, such as video and photo materials, as well as satellite imagery. It is accompanied by detailed analysis of relevant international and German law.
- The first case concerns an indiscriminate missile attack on a resort in the Odessa region, which in the summer of 2022 killed 22 civilians and seriously injured 40 more. The Docket is representing 11 families of victims and survivors.
- The second case is focused on the commanders of Russian ground forces who unlawfully detained, tortured, and executed four men in the Kharkiv region during their occupation of the area from March to September 2022. The Docket represents the families of three of the four victims. This complaint is filed jointly with Truth Hounds, a leading Ukrainian human rights organization with whom The Docket has partnered from the start of its work in Ukraine. Justice and Accountability Unit, a joint initiative of Bellingcat and the Global Legal Action Network, carried out detailed open source analysis for the case.
- The third case identifies the commanders of Russian units involved in a pattern of crimes, including executions, torture, sexual violence, looting and other violations committed during the occupation in the Kyiv region in March 2022. The Docket represents a survivor of torture and the family of a man killed by Russian forces during the occupation.
“Our team spent one and a half years interviewing witnesses, carrying out field work, analyzing documents, going through satellite imagery, deciding on the best legal approach, and preparing survivors and families of the victims for the process,” said Neistat. “I am now confident that the cases are strong, and that they will offer German courts a real chance to deliver justice to the survivors.”
“While Ukrainian law enforcement agencies are doing their best to cover the unprecedented scale of war crimes committed in the country, they are overloaded and have limited options under Ukrainian law for pursuing the commanders and masterminds of the crimes,” said Maryna Slobodianiuk, the Head of Investigations Department of Truth Hounds. “We believe that by opening these proceedings, Germany can significantly contribute to the efforts of ensuring justice for all Ukrainian survivors.”
If German authorities find the evidence presented against specific perpetrators convincing, they can open a criminal investigation and issue arrest warrants for the suspects, which would enable their arrest, extradition, and prosecution. The arrest warrants can be enforced in countries outside of Germany through the Europol and Interpol systems. The ICC can also issue arrest warrants against key suspects.
In Germany, the survivors and families will be represented by a renowned German lawyer, Natalie von Wistinghausen, as well as by The Docket’s lawyers. Once the investigation is open, The Docket will continue to provide additional evidence to the German prosecutors, coordinate with the Ukrainian Office of the Prosecutor, and provide all necessary support to the survivors and families involved in the proceedings.
“We represent survivors of torture, as well as families of people who had been executed or killed in indiscriminate attacks,” said Neistat. “These Ukrainians civilians have suffered unthinkable violence, but now they are no longer victims—they chose to fight for justice, and we will be with them every step of the way.”
