As of: 07/14/2022 7:25 p.m
If Murders, kidnappings or attacks on hospitals: the list of alleged war crimes in Ukraine is long. At a conference, the EU states discussed criminal prosecution with high-ranking prosecutors.
Targeted killings, rapes, kidnappings and deportations of civilians – the list of allegations against the Russian army is long. That’s why you want to give a clear signal that you stand behind the law, says Tobias Lindner. The Minister of State in the Foreign Office represented Germany at the conference in The Hague:
This is about investigating war crimes in Ukraine. We have seen terrible pictures from Bucha. And that’s why it’s important that evidence is collected now, that we investigate and that those responsible for these crimes may one day have to answer here in The Hague.”
The meeting also dealt with very practical questions, such as whether the International Criminal Court needs more resources, whether the number of forensic experts needs to be increased or how one can locate witnesses who have fled abroad. Their statements played a central role, says Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann. And above all, you have to be very quick.
Because the people who experience something like this are often traumatized, and this traumatization then leads to knowledge being lost. We record these testimonies and as part of the cooperation we then of course make this evidence available to others, for example the International Criminal Court, so that we can then try these people. Of course we have to get hold of them for that. This will probably take many years. That’s probably hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions, of pieces of evidence that need to be viewed, documented, and evaluated.
21,000 war crimes investigations
The Irish aid organization Front Line Defenders has so far counted 338 possible war crimes. And EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders speaks of more than 21,000 investigations into war crimes.
A joint strategy is finally needed to punish war crimes in Ukraine, demanded the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, in an interview with the ARD studio Brussels:
There’s a risk that in this deluge of investigations, evidence we need is more likely to get lost. War crimes are internationally proscribed and we have a responsibility to investigate. But there’s a big mess now. There is also over-documentation. We do not know how many victims of rape there are because those affected are questioned several times. That’s why it’s important to speak up.
Russia denies allegations
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj was connected to the conference via video and reported that at least 20 civilians were killed in the bombing of an office building in the city of Vinnytsia, around 200 kilometers southwest of Kyiv.
Russia has always denied attacking civilian targets. Moscow also denies allegations that Russian troops are committing war crimes in Ukraine.
Conference on the Prosecution of War Crimes in Ukraine
Matthias Reiche, ARD Brussels, 14.7.2022 4:43 p.m