Prosecutor opens probe into Russian attack on Swiss journalist

Russian soldiers shot at Swiss journalist Guillaume Briquet as he was driving in Ukraine. Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved

Switzerland’s Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has opened a war crimes probe in connection with the shooting of a Geneva-based photojournalist in Ukraine last year, writes the SonntagsBlick.

“A criminal procedure has been opened following a report by a non-governmental organisation,” an OAG spokesman told the newspaper. A complaint was filed last August by Ukrainian NGO Truth Hounds, backed by Swiss NGO Civitas Maxima, concerning the attack on Swiss journalist Guillaume Briquet on March 6, 2022.

According to Civitas MaximaExternal link, Briquet was ambushed by a Russian commando as he was driving from Kropyvnytsky to Mykolaïv in Ukraine. His vehicle – which had Geneva license plates and “PRESS” written on both sides – was shot twice on the drivers’ side, and twice on the passenger’s side. Briquet was injured by broken glass on his arms and his head. “Briquet believes that the reason the press is being targeted is to intimidate journalists not to report on the conflict,” adds Civitas Maxima.

“The soldiers wanted to kill me,” the journalist tells SonntagsBlick. The paper says this will be the first war crimes case opened by the OAG in the context of Ukraine. The OAG has also set up a unit to gather testimonies, notably from Ukrainian refugees in Switzerland, for possible future use in national or international courts.

For the moment, the proceedings have been opened against unknown suspect(s). But SonntagsBlick says the Ukrainian researchers have identified those responsible and are pointing to a Russian special unit. Truth Hounds has passed this information to the OAG, the paper reports.