Yet these crimes against humanity are so far the least covered of the Russian war against Ukraine.

The press conference will focus on the following points:

- The scale and severity of rape and torture committed by Russian soldiers, from 2014 to the present. The use of rape and sexual torture in Russian prisons where more than 3,000 Ukrainian men and women are currently being held.

- The widespread use of these sexual crimes is part of a strategy in its own right. Their number indicates that they could not have been committed without the consent, or even the encouragement, of the military hierarchy, right up to the top of the Russian state. Just like the large-scale deportation

Ukrainian children in Russia, mass rapes demonstrate the deliberate will of the Russian authorities to destroy the Ukrainian people.

- Difficulties in documenting the facts, linked to obstacles in collecting testimonies due to the reluctance of victims to file complaints and the lack of training of the Ukrainian police and justice services.

- The jurisdictions which would be able to deal with these crimes (Ukrainian or European courts, ICC?).

The speakers:

The four members of the NGO SEMA Ukraine present at the conference were all detained by the Russian army in various periods from 2014 to 2023, they are survivors of torture and sexual violence. They provide assistance to other survivors.

- Iryna Dovgan , founder and president of the NGO SEMA Ukraine

- Lyudmyla Huseynova , member of SEMA Ukraine, journalist (online from Kyiv)

- Olena Apchel, member of SEMA Ukraine, director (online from Kyiv)

- Alisa Kovalenko , member of SEMA Ukraine, documentary filmmaker

- Oleksandra Matviichuk , human rights lawyer, President of the Center for Civil Liberties of Ukraine, Nobel Peace Prize 2022 (online from Kyiv).

- Florence Hartmann , journalist and essayist. Spokesperson and political advisor to the Prosecutor General of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda (2000-2006)

Conference presented by Sylvie Rollet , President of the association For Ukraine, for their freedom and ours!