Create special tribunal for Putin and Lukashenko

19.05.2022 9:00

Create special tribunal for Putin and Lukashenko

Ukraine

“There cannot be any impunity for war crimes in Ukraine. The atrocities committed by Russian soldiers in Ukrainian cities are shocking. We cannot accept this in Europe today - children, women, and men are being brutally raped, tortured, executed and kidnapped", said Jeroen Lenaers, the EPP Group’s Spokesman on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, before today's debate and vote on a parliamentary Resolution proposing ways to support Ukraine and the International Criminal Court in prosecuting war crimes.

“We are witnessing the same brutality by the Russian army that we witnessed decades ago. But for these outrageous crimes, not only soldiers should be punished but also their political leaders and military commanders of the Russian Federation as well as their allies. Also, President Putin and his proxy Lukashenko must be held accountable and tried by a special international tribunal. We therefore call on the EU Institutions, in particular the European Commission, to support the creation, without delay, of such a tribunal and to provide as soon as possible all the necessary resources and support for the establishment of this tribunal”, added Rasa Juknevičienė MEP, EPP Group Vice-Chairwoman responsible for Foreign Affairs.

The Parliament will also decide on the extension of Eurojust’s mandate to allow it to store and analyse evidence related to war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. Nevertheless, the extension will cover only three of the four crimes recognised in the Rome Statute, the cornerstone of the International Criminal Court. “We were in close contact with the Ukrainian authorities regarding the inclusion of the fourth crime, the crime on aggression, in the mandate of Eurojust”, continued Lenaers. “However after careful examination, we concluded to adopt the legislation as it is presented and to continue working on the inclusion of the crime of aggression. In doing so, we do not risk a delay to the procedure, something that could cause problems for the participation of Eurojust and the loss of important evidence”, concluded Lenaers.

Since the war began, more than 10,700 incidents of war crimes and crimes against humanity have been registered, and 600 suspects identified. The EU has set up a Joint Investigation Team with Ukraine to collect evidence and investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Note to editors

The EPP Group is the largest political group in the European Parliament with 176 Members from all EU Member States

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