FancyMancy
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I decided to make this a thread of its own, so as to not have it buried.
©Provided by Metro It comes as Amnesty International condemned Russia over an alleged attack on a pre school (Picture: AP)
Russia will soon be under investigation for possible war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine, the International Criminal Court has confirmed.
Its chief prosecutor confirmed on Monday night that he plans to open an investigation ‘as rapidly as possible’.
It comes after Amnesty International condemned Russia for an alleged attack on a pre-school, which it said could constitute a war crime.
Prosecutor Karim Khan said in a statement that his investigation will look at alleged crimes committed before the Russian invasion began last week – but added: ‘Given the expansion of the conflict in recent days, it is my intention that this investigation will also encompass any new alleged crimes falling within the jurisdiction of my office that are committed by any party to the conflict on any part of the territory of Ukraine.’
The court has already conducted a preliminary probe into crimes linked to the violent suppression of pro-European protests in Kyiv in 2013-2014 and allegations of crimes in Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, and eastern Ukraine.
In December 2020, the then-ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said the probe uncovered indications that ‘a broad range of conduct constituting war crimes and crimes against humanity within the jurisdiction of the Court have been committed’ in Ukraine.
However, the court’s prosecutors had not yet sought permission from judges to open a full-scale investigation.
©Provided by Metro Russia has been accused of using cluster munitions (Picture: AP)
Mr Bensouda’s successor Mr Khan says he will now open the investigation envisaged by his predecessor and broaden it to include crimes committed in fighting since the Russian invasion of Ukraine last week.
Meanwhile, human rights charity Amnesty said ‘a 220mm Uragan rocket dropped cluster munitions on the Sonechko nursery and kindergarten in the town of Okhtyrka in Sumy Oblast’ on Friday.
It pointed the finger at Russia and added: ‘The strike may constitute a war crime.’
Amnesty said three people were killed in the attack, including a child.
©Provided by Metro Prosecutor Karim Khan is opening the investigation (Picture: AP)
Cluster munitions scatter or release smaller munitions or bomblets over a wide area, increasing the potential for casualties and damage.
More than 100 countries have committed never to use the weapons under the Convention on Cluster Munitions, including the UK, but neither Russia nor Ukraine have signed the agreement.
Agnes Callamard, secretary-general of Amnesty, said: ‘It is stomach-turning to see an indiscriminate attack on a nursery and kindergarten where civilians are seeking safe haven. Plain and simple, this should be investigated as a war crime.
‘As this human tragedy unfolds in Ukraine, any person who commits war crimes should be held individually accountable before the International Criminal Court (ICC) or another international criminal justice process at the national or international level.
©Provided by Metro Residential areas in Kyiv have been targeted (Picture: EPA)
‘It is imperative that UN member states and the ICC urgently consider how to ensure the timely and effective collection and preservation of evidence of any crimes under international law committed in Ukraine.’
Human Rights Watch said it has also identified examples of cluster munition use.
Bellingcat, a website specialising in investigations and verification, said on Sunday that it had located multiple sites in Ukraine where cluster munitions had been used.
It outlined two, at a pre-school in the city of Okhtyrka, and in Kharkiv, where it had verified social media reports of cluster munition attacks.
https://archive.is/mLTV7
I just want to share this for no apparent reason -
©Provided by Metro It comes as Amnesty International condemned Russia over an alleged attack on a pre school (Picture: AP)
Russia will soon be under investigation for possible war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine, the International Criminal Court has confirmed.
Its chief prosecutor confirmed on Monday night that he plans to open an investigation ‘as rapidly as possible’.
It comes after Amnesty International condemned Russia for an alleged attack on a pre-school, which it said could constitute a war crime.
Prosecutor Karim Khan said in a statement that his investigation will look at alleged crimes committed before the Russian invasion began last week – but added: ‘Given the expansion of the conflict in recent days, it is my intention that this investigation will also encompass any new alleged crimes falling within the jurisdiction of my office that are committed by any party to the conflict on any part of the territory of Ukraine.’
The court has already conducted a preliminary probe into crimes linked to the violent suppression of pro-European protests in Kyiv in 2013-2014 and allegations of crimes in Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, and eastern Ukraine.
In December 2020, the then-ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said the probe uncovered indications that ‘a broad range of conduct constituting war crimes and crimes against humanity within the jurisdiction of the Court have been committed’ in Ukraine.
However, the court’s prosecutors had not yet sought permission from judges to open a full-scale investigation.
©Provided by Metro Russia has been accused of using cluster munitions (Picture: AP)
Mr Bensouda’s successor Mr Khan says he will now open the investigation envisaged by his predecessor and broaden it to include crimes committed in fighting since the Russian invasion of Ukraine last week.
Meanwhile, human rights charity Amnesty said ‘a 220mm Uragan rocket dropped cluster munitions on the Sonechko nursery and kindergarten in the town of Okhtyrka in Sumy Oblast’ on Friday.
It pointed the finger at Russia and added: ‘The strike may constitute a war crime.’
Amnesty said three people were killed in the attack, including a child.
©Provided by Metro Prosecutor Karim Khan is opening the investigation (Picture: AP)
Cluster munitions scatter or release smaller munitions or bomblets over a wide area, increasing the potential for casualties and damage.
More than 100 countries have committed never to use the weapons under the Convention on Cluster Munitions, including the UK, but neither Russia nor Ukraine have signed the agreement.
Agnes Callamard, secretary-general of Amnesty, said: ‘It is stomach-turning to see an indiscriminate attack on a nursery and kindergarten where civilians are seeking safe haven. Plain and simple, this should be investigated as a war crime.
‘As this human tragedy unfolds in Ukraine, any person who commits war crimes should be held individually accountable before the International Criminal Court (ICC) or another international criminal justice process at the national or international level.
©Provided by Metro Residential areas in Kyiv have been targeted (Picture: EPA)
‘It is imperative that UN member states and the ICC urgently consider how to ensure the timely and effective collection and preservation of evidence of any crimes under international law committed in Ukraine.’
Human Rights Watch said it has also identified examples of cluster munition use.
Bellingcat, a website specialising in investigations and verification, said on Sunday that it had located multiple sites in Ukraine where cluster munitions had been used.
It outlined two, at a pre-school in the city of Okhtyrka, and in Kharkiv, where it had verified social media reports of cluster munition attacks.
https://archive.is/mLTV7
I just want to share this for no apparent reason -
