Muristek
Captured Russians ‘useful’ for war crime evidence against Putin’s commanders: Former ICC prosecutor
Former International Criminal Court prosecutor Regina Weiss says Russia’s carnage in Ukraine cannot be anything other than a war crime after shocking images emerged of bodies strewn on the outskirts of Kyiv. Ukrainian officials have said more than 400 people have been found dead in towns near Kyiv so far after the withdrawal of Russian troops. Ms Weiss, who prosecuted war crimes and crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court for a decade from 2007, told Sky News Australia that investigators were now on the ground in Ukraine. “The pictures that are coming out of Ukraine today and over the last few weeks, the evidence is very much pointing towards war crimes being committed,” she said. “We see summary executions, we see attacks against civilian populations hiding in theatres, we see attacks against civilian-protected targets like the hospital in Mariupol. “These are all war crimes, and people need to be held accountable.” Ms Weiss said the Ukrainian prosecutor’s office was on-site collecting evidence which she is “sure” would be shared with the International Criminal Court. “The evidence clearly is being collected, and that would be forensic evidence, there’s evidence – eyewitness evidence, and possibly also evidence of captured Russians which could prove to be useful as insider linkage evidence, which would lead to commanders and those in charge,” Ms Weiss said. During a visit to the site of alleged atrocities in Bucha, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters his people had been treated “worse than animals”. Warning: Some may find parts of this content distressing.
Most Read