Status: 06/18/2022 3:53 p.m
The Federal Criminal Police Office is investigating evidence of Russian war crimes in Ukraine. The perpetrators and those responsible are being investigated. According to the principle of universal jurisdiction, war criminals can also be prosecuted in Germany.
According to the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), it is investigating several hundred tips on Russian war crimes in Ukraine. “So far we have received a three-digit number of tips,” said BKA President Holger Münch of the “Welt am Sonntag”. The perpetrators are being investigated, but also those responsible militarily and politically.
“This is the most difficult part of our investigation, a complex jigsaw puzzle,” said Münch. The aim is to identify those responsible, prove their actions and bring them before a court. To this end, the BKA is following all leads, looking for whistleblowers and collecting evidence.
This is preparing for possible charges in Germany, said Münch. According to the so-called universal legal principle, war criminals can also be tried in Germany. Münch expressed the hope that such processes will also take place. So far, the investigations into the war in Ukraine are still “at the very beginning”.
Universal Jurisdiction
According to the principle of universal jurisdiction, certain acts, including crimes against humanity, are prosecuted in Germany on this basis even if neither Germans were involved nor other connections to the Federal Republic existed.
No proceedings against suspects yet
The Attorney General, on whose behalf the BKA is investigating, is currently conducting a structural investigation, but no proceedings against individual suspects, said Münch. The BKA also uses secret service material, for example from the Federal Intelligence Service (BND). Among other things, he recorded radio messages from Russian soldiers in which they reported frankly about atrocities committed against the civilian population.
Information relevant to criminal proceedings was also received from the services of the partner states. Münch said it was also considering sending German investigators to Ukraine in the future. However, this would require an international mandate. Safety issues would also have to be considered.
More than 4,000 civilians have been killed since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February, according to the United Nations. At least 4,900 others suffered injuries, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights announced in early June.