The Side Event “Investigating war crimes of authoritarian regimes” organized by the “Union of Informed Citizens” took place on October 13 within the framework of the OSCE\/ODIHR Human Dimension Conference in Warsaw.<\/p>\n
The speakers of the Event were Stanislau Ivashkevich, Head of the Belarusian Investigative Center, Galyna Petrenko, Director of Detector Media in Ukraine, and Ani Grigoryan, Editor of CivilNetCheck in Armenia. They presented how journalists document war crimes often working under threat or within closed borders.<\/p>\n
The speakers recounted war crimes committed in the occupied territories of Ukraine and through the territory of Belarus, as well as crimes committed by the Azerbaijani army in Nagorno-Karabakh.<\/p>\n
Discussion unfolded on how authoritarian regimes try to silence free media as they obscure war crimes. The regimes of Azerbaijan, Russia, and Belarus do not tolerate free media forcing journalists to conduct investigations remotely, without access to the crime scene. It was highlighted that technologies, from satellite imagery to open source analysis, often allow investigative journalists to uncover the truth even in the most inaccessible areas.<\/p>\n
It was noted that for the regimes of Vladimir Putin, Alexander Lukashenko and Ilham Aliyev, an independent journalist is often a more crucial target than an enemy combatant. This is manifested in the targeting of journalists in various situations, as well as the practice of torturing and murdering the captured journalists.<\/p>\n
The situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and the occupied territories of Ukraine was also touched upon: in both cases, journalists reporting on war crimes have risked their lives.<\/p>\n
Toward the end of the event, the participants once again emphasized that independent journalism is not only an informative, but also a humanitarian mission to expose the crimes of dictatorial regimes and make people’s voices heard.<\/p>\n