Complaint filed over attack on Swiss journalist in Ukraine
A civil rights group has filed a criminal complaint in Switzerland over the alleged attack of a Swiss journalist by Russian troops in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian NGO Truth Hounds said on Thursday that it has submitted evidence of a war crime with the Swiss Office of the Attorney General (OAG).
Swiss freelance journalist Guillaume Briquet was injured in the arms and head when his car came under fire in the Mykolaiv region of southern Ukraine in March. His vehicle had Geneva number plates and was marked with the word ‘Press’ on both sides.
A passport, 3,000 euros in cash, personal belongings, a helmet, photographic equipment and a laptop were allegedly taken from him.
Truth Hounds says the attack was carried out by Russian ‘commando’ who target the media to deter journalists from reporting the war. The NGO, which has been documenting war crimes in Ukraine since 2014, filed the complaint with the help of Civitas Maxima, a civil rights group that provides legal aid for victims of international crimes.
The OAG has vowed to help track down and prosecute the perpetrators of war crimes in Ukraine. Federal prosecutors have formed a taskforce to collect evidence from refugees arriving in Switzerland to pass on to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
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