Truth Hounds

Award(s)The Albie Awards (2023)
Andrei Sakharov Freedom Award (2023)Websitetruth-hounds.org/en/

Truth Hounds is a Ukrainian civil society organization specializing in documenting and investigating international crimes and serious human rights violations in Ukraine and other conflict-affected regions of Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia.^[1]

Since its founding in 2014, the organization has conducted over 260 field missions for documentation, identified more than 200 suspects of international war crimes, and carried out 55 thorough investigations.^[2]

Truth Hounds' mission is to seek the truth, pursue perpetrators, and disseminate expertise. This is achieved through two main objectives: preventing the commission of international crimes in Ukraine and restoring justice for their victims.

To ensure a solid foundation for official criminal proceedings, Truth Hounds collect as much evidence of international crimes on-site as possible. Over 10 years of work, Truth Hounds' field researchers have recorded more than 5,000 eyewitness testimonies.

Ukrainian law enforcement and international human rights defenders regularly request Truth Hounds to conduct field missions so that the collected evidence can be integrated into official criminal cases.

The Truth Hounds investigation team gathers testimonies from witnesses and victims, uses OSINT, analyzes data, and collaborates with the police to achieve identifying perpetrators and uncovering the circumstances of crimes.^[3]

Examples:

• The bill is on you: Identifying the unit responsible for the missile attack on Kramatorsk and Bilenke on June 27, 2023.
• Our city was gone: New data on Russia's destruction of Mariupol (in collaboration with Human Rights Watch and SITU Research).^[4]
• Afterword: Investigating the involvement of Russian military personnel in the murder of writer Volodymyr Vakulenko.^[5]

The organization maintains regular contact with the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, the National Police, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), and regional prosecutor's offices, including through participation in investigative groups to ensure effective investigation and prosecution.

Truth Hounds conduct in-depth analytical research and develop expert materials that analyze the impact of the armed conflict in Ukraine on human rights, the environment, economic security, and international law. Experts identify patterns and investigate the dynamics of Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine.^[6]

Examples:

• Submerged: Study of the Destruction of the Kakhovka Dam and Its Impacts on Ecosystems, Agrarians, Other Civilians, and International Justice (in collaboration with Project Expedite Justice).
• In Nuclear Prison: How Rosatom turned Europe’s largest nuclear power plant into a torture chamber and how the world can stop it.
• Terror in Details: Western-made Components in Russia’s Shahed-136 Attacks.

Since February 24, 2022, Truth Hounds monitors have been daily recording incidents that show signs of war crimes. They archive social media posts, videos, satellite images, media publications, and other materials in a database for further verification and source confirmation. Verified data are considered prerequisites for future field missions and investigations.

Truth Hounds enter all documented information into the I-DOC database, a tool for working with evidence related to serious human rights violations and international criminal law. So, Truth Hounds can build large-scale cases by quickly establishing connections between individual events and their participants. Since 2018, the organization has entered about 1,800 incidents that show signs of war crimes into the database.

Cooperation with prosecutors, investigators, and judges. This interaction aims to improve the quality of official investigations and advance justice through mentoring, participation in investigative actions, unifying investigative methods, and strengthening the evidence base. A significant portion of the cases considered by prosecutors and investigators handling war crimes in Ukraine has been prepared and analyzed by Truth Hounds.

Enhancing the qualifications of investigators, lawyers, and human rights defenders. Since 2018, Truth Hounds have conducted more than 80 training sessions, educational events, and lectures on international humanitarian law, documentation methodology, and investigation of international crimes. The team has developed guides on the basics of documentation and investigation methodology.

Cooperation with foreign authorities: Expanding the possibilities for prosecution of war crimes. Interaction with foreign investigative bodies and prosecutors allows the initiation of proceedings in other countries based on the principle of extraterritorial jurisdiction. At Truth Hounds' initiative, five proceedings have been launched regarding crimes in Ukraine, including the abduction and torture of civilians, as well as shelling with missiles and cluster munitions.

Submissions to the ICC: Providing information on crimes within the Court's jurisdiction. Truth Hounds has submitted nine filings to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Among them are two joint submissions with Global Diligence, IPHR, and GRC regarding the persecution of Crimean Tatars. The most recent submission includes information on attacks on civilians during the first six months after February 24, 2022.

Collaboration with Archives: Preserving historical evidence of armed conflict. Partners include the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, Timothy Snyder’s research initiative, and the Arolsen Archives.

Andrei Sakharov Freedom Award (2023) from the Norwegian Helsinki Committee.^[7][8]

The Albie Awards (2023) from the Clooney Foundation for Justice.^[9][10]

• Ukraine 5AM Coalition
• Tribunal for Putin Initiative
• Coalition for the International Criminal Court
• CivilM+ Coalition

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Truth Hounds Website