International Crimes in Crimea

International Crimes in Crimea: An Assessment of Two and a Half Years of Russian Occupation SEPTEMBER 2016 Contents I. Introduction 6 A. Executive summary 6 B. The authors 7 C. Sources of information and methodology of documentation 7 II. Factual Background 8 A. A brief history of the Crimean Peninsula 8 B. Euromaidan 12 C. The invasion of Crimea 15 D. Two and a half years of occupation and the war in Donbas 23 III. Jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court 27 IV. Contextual elements of international crimes 28 A. War crimes 28 B. Crimes against humanity 34 V. Willful killing, murder and enforced disappearances 38 A. Overview 38 B. The law 38 C. Summary of the evidence 39 D. Documented cases 41 E. Analysis 45 F. Conclusion 45 VI. Torture and other forms of inhuman treatment 46 A. Overview 46 B. The law 46 C. Summary of the evidence 47 D. Documented cases of torture and other forms of inhuman treatment 50 E. Analysis 59 F. Conclusion 59 VII. Illegal detention 60 A. Overview 60 B. The law 60 C. Summary of the evidence 62 D. Documented cases of illegal detention 66 E. Analysis 87 F. Conclusion 87 VIII. Forced displacement 88 A. Overview 88 B. The law 88 C. Summary of evidence 90 D. Analysis 93 E. Conclusion 93 IX. Crimes against public, private and cultural property 94 A. Overview 94 B. The law 94 C. Summary of evidence 96 D. Documented cases 99 E. Analysis 110 F. Conclusion 110 X. Persecution and collective punishment 111 A. Overview 111 B. The law 111 C. Summary of evidence 113 D. Analysis 117 E. Conclusion 118 XI. Other crimes 119 A. Transfer of civilian population of occupying power onto occupied territory 119 B. Compelling a protected person to serve in the armed forces of a hostile power 121 XII. Groups and persons likely to be the focus of an investigation 123 A. Overview 123 B. The law 123 C. Summary of findings 125 D. Conclusion 135 XIII. Issues relating to the admissibility of potential cases before the International Criminal Court (ICC) 136 A. Complementarity 136 B. Gravity 137 C. Interests of justice 138 XIV. Conclusion 139 I. Introduction A. Executive summary 1. In late February 2014, armed forces of the Russian Federation supported by proxy paramilitary groups invad- ed the Crimean Peninsula – sovereign territory of Ukraine – in violation of the prohibition on the use of force enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. The invading forces quickly established control and authority over the Crimean Peninsula, expelling Ukraine’s civilian and military authorities. On 16 March 2014, the occupying authorities held what is widely considered to have been an illegal and non-binding referendum on the independence of Crimea and Sevastopol from Ukraine. On 18 March 2014, self-proclaimed representatives of Crimea and Sevastopol signed an agreement with the president of the Russian Federation for the integra- tion of the pensinsula into the territoty of that country. Most of the international community have refused to recognise the legality of the referendum and subsequent annexation. The territory of the Crimean Peninsula remains under Russian occupation. 2. The aim of this report is to present evidence, collected by the International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) and other organisations, on international crimes and violations of fundamental human rights, which have taken place on the territory of the Crimean Peninsula since the beggining of the occupation early 2014. This report documents evidence of seven murders, 15 enforced disappearances, 90 cases of illegal detention, 36 cases of torture and/or other forms of inhuman and/or degrading treatment, widespread appropriation of public and private property, and the forcible displacement of up to 60,000 civilians. The primary targets of these human rights violations are Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians identifed by the occupying authorities as opponents or critics of the occupation. The cumulative efect of these crimes and other severe deprivations of fundamental rights, may be characterised as persecution perpetrated against Crimean Tatars and Ukrai- nians on ethnic, political and/or religious grounds. 3. On 8 September 2015, the Foreign Minister of Ukraine submitted a Declaration to the Registrar of the Inter- national Criminal Court (ICC), accepting “the jurisdiction of the Court for the purpose of identifying, prose- cuting and judging the perpetrators and accomplices of acts committed in the territory of Ukraine since 20 February 2014 (sic).” On the basis of this Declaration, the ICC has jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute crimes set out in its Statute (ICC Statute) that have taken place on the territory of Ukraine, including the Crimean Peninsula, from 20 February 2014. In order to demonstrate that ICC Statute crimes were committed on the territory of occupied Crimea, IPHR has analysed and presented the documented evidence using the framework of the ICC Statute. In our opinion, the conduct set out in this report took place in the context of and was associated with the occupation, and/or took place as part of a widespread and systematic attack on the targeted civilian population. Consequently, we submit that there is a reasonable basis to believe that war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed on the Crimean Peninsula since the onset of the occupation. 4. According to our analysis, the individuals that bear the greatest responsibility for the conduct presented in this report are the leading fgures of the occupying authorities and proxy paramilitary groups. Moreover, we submit that any potential cases emanating from the evidence set forth by IPHR will satisfy the three admissibility criteria inscribed in the ICC Statute – complementarity, gravity and the interests of justice. 5. Pursuant to the common aspirations of peace, security and justice, it is imperative to conduct full and thor- ough investigations into these events and bring those responsible for committing international crimes to an independent and impartial trial guaranteeing the full respect for fundamental fair trial rights. To this end, IPHR will fle an Article 15 Communication, together with all evidence supporting the fndings in this report, to the ICC Prosecutor. 6 IPHR · INTERNATIONAL CRIMES IN CRIMEA: AN ASSESSMENT OF TWO AND A HALF YEARS OF RUSSIAN OCCUPATION B. The authors 6. International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) is a non-proft organization with its headquarters in Brus- sels. It was founded in 2008 with a mandate to empower local civil society groups and assist them in making their concerns heard at the international level. IPHR works together with human rights groups from diferent countries on project development and implementation, research, documentation and advocacy. Its team members have wide experience in international human rights work and cooperate with human rights groups from across Europe, Central Asia and North America, helping to prepare publications and conduct advocacy activities. Since its establishment, IPHR has carried out a series of activities aimed at assisting and empow- ering local human rights groups from the Russian Federation, Central Asia and South Caucasus to engage efectively with the international community. C. Sources of information and methodology of documentation 7. The evidence of violations presented in this report has been empirically documented by IPHR through feld missions and interviews, or collected from independent, reliable sources by IPHR monitors. 8. Since March 2014, IPHR has an established presence in Ukraine with the objective of supporting Ukrainian civil society organizations in their work to document human rights violations, fght impunity and advocate for desired change during the times of upheaval. As armed confict erupted in the south and east of Ukraine, IPHR launched an open call to form a group of local observers to engage in documenting crimes of international character being committed in the context of Crimea annexation. Fifteen observers were selected through this call and received extensive practical training in documenting war crimes and crimes against humanity in September 2014. The group of monitors commenced documentation activities in Crimea in summer 2015. 9. To ensure a consistent methodology of documentation, IPHR developed a tailor made crime documentation manual and a practical toolbox. The manual includes detailed description of elements of crimes (war crimes and crimes against humanity), classifcation of evidence, instructions on obtaining and safely storing diferent categories of evidence, guidelines on conducting feld interviews and obtaining appropriate statements from victims and witnesses and security aspects of the feldwork. 10. Thirty-seven victim and witness statements have been recorded since summer 2015. Statements relating to concrete incidents/crimes form the basis of this report. The majority of these were documentated in Crimea and only two were collected from witnesses who had been forcibly displaced to the continental part of Ukraine. The victims and witnesses interviewed include Crimean Tatars, activists, human rights defenders and witnesses to crimes committed by agents and proxies of the occupying authorities. 11. Furthermore, this report documents information collected by other indepenend human rights organisations, most notably the Crimean Contact Group and Crimea-SOS. Documented cases have also been analysed with reference to human rights violations documented by international organisations such as the Ofce of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human

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