Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan on the executions of Ukrainian soldiers: ICC can take up these cases
Kyiv • UNN
The Chief Prosecutor of the ICC has declared the court's jurisdiction to investigate the executions of prisoners of war in Ukraine. According to the Prosecutor General's Office, the Russian occupiers executed 93 Ukrainian soldiers on the battlefield.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has jurisdiction over the events in Ukraine, said ICC Chief Prosecutor Kareem Khan in the context of cases of alleged executions of prisoners of war, Radio Liberty reports, UNN writes.
Every provision of the Rome Statute... can be applied, they all matter. Our job is to apply a methodological approach, to organize an investigation strategy. And the message should already be clear: regardless of whether someone is a head of state, government, commander or soldier, as the UN Secretary-General says, even wars have rules, and no one has the right to execute a civilian or a prisoner of war... And if such a person acts with impunity, then this may be within the jurisdiction of the ICC, because we have jurisdiction over the events in Ukraine
Addendum
According to the Prosecutor General's Office, it is now known that the Russian occupiers executed 93 Ukrainian soldiers on the battlefield. 80% of these executions took place this year. This indicates a serious increase in such cases.
On March 17, 2023, the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Levova-Belova. This decision was made in connection with the alleged responsibility for the war crime of illegal deportation of children.
