The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), together with partners from the Kharkiv Human Rights Group and the Ukrainian Center for Civil Liberties, appealed to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. They asked for an investigation against the propagandists for inciting hatred, FIDH told Mediazona.
The materials of human rights activists are directed against presenters Vladimir Solovyov, Dmitry Kiselyov and Sergei Madan, RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan, as well as against Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev.
In addition, human rights activists believe that the first deputy head of the presidential administration, Alexey Gromov, also bears responsibility for inciting hatred — he gives written and oral instructions, according to which the agenda of the federal media is formed.
The initiators handed over their data to the ICC prosecutor, on the basis of which he can begin an investigation. They focus on the hate speech broadcast by propagandists. We are talking about calls for violence against Ukrainians, their dehumanization and violations of the right to security and human dignity.
“Hate speech played a decisive role in the conflict because it dehumanized Ukrainians and justified violence against them, thereby contributing to actual acts of violence to which they are subjected,” FIDH said in a statement. “Russian media used numerous methods to portray Ukrainians as enemies, creating a hostile environment that encourages and legitimizes abuses.”