As international outrage grows over the killings of civilians in Ukraine, human rights defenders are working around the clock to collect, verify and preserve digital evidence of the attacks – to someday hold those responsible to account. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has described recent atrocities in his country as “war crimes” and “genocide” – accusations that Russia rejects, calling them “fakes” fabricated by Ukraine. On the ground, journalists, human rights activists, and ordinary citizens are racing against time to take photos and shoot videos of what they’ve witnessed, and post the evidence on social media or share it with NGOs able to cross-examine it. So, how is all this digital evidence collected, verified, and safeguarded and how might it someday help bring potential war criminals to justice? We spoke to three organisations involved in different stages of this process. (…) A growing number of organisations, including Bellingcat and Human Rights Watch, carry out online investigations using content that’s publicly accessible online to anyone, also known as open-source intelligence (OSINT). Amnesty International’s Evidence Lab focuses on content showing attacks on civilian areas or infrastructure, particularly hospitals or schools, or showing the use of indiscriminate and banned weapons such as cluster bombs. All of these would constitute violations of international humanitarian law. Amnesty says it has so far collected thousands of videos of alleged atrocities in Ukraine. Of these, about 50 incidents have been fully verified and cross-checked with testimonies from the ground. The process is time-consuming. The Lab uses geo-location, metadata, satellite imagery, input from weapons experts, and eyewitness testimonies to corroborate the digital evidence.
via euronews: How digital evidence of war crimes in Ukraine is being collected, verified and preserved