The Bulgarian authorities are preparing amendments to the country's criminal code that will allow the Kremlin regime to be prosecuted for the war of aggression against Ukraine, Bulgarian Justice Minister Atanas Slavov said, Euractiv reports, UNN reports.
Our goal is to enable Bulgaria to initiate criminal prosecutions, exercising universal jurisdiction, for war crimes and crimes against peace and humanity in Ukraine. This will be an act of support for international efforts to investigate Russian aggression in Ukraine,
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It is noted that Bulgaria belongs to the minority of EU countries that have not initiated criminal proceedings for war crimes in Ukraine or for evading EU sanctions against Russia.
It is very important that Bulgaria can initiate war crimes proceedings in Ukraine, exercising universal jurisdiction, given the large number of Ukrainian refugees in the country. They can testify,
There are almost 100,000 Ukrainian refugees in Bulgaria, many of them from areas where hostilities are taking place, such as the Kherson region. The Bulgarian minority in Ukraine numbers 200,000 people, many of whom can also contribute to the investigation of war crimes after the start of Russian aggression.
Once the data is collected from all European countries, this evidence could be invaluable in establishing a future war crimes tribunal in Ukraine.
Many European countries have already launched investigations, some of which are questioning hundreds of thousands of people, with the Baltic republics being the most active.
Justice Minister Atanas Slavov also said that the future inclusion of the crime of aggression in Bulgaria's Criminal Code "will make it possible to bring to justice the military and political leadership that ordered the relevant military actions in Ukraine.
ICC blocks Ukraine's attempt to seek a trial for Russian crimes - The Guardian07.02.24, 16:54