Prosecute Putin, not only individual soldiers

“The European Union should take the lead and create a special ad hoc tribunal to prosecute the crime of aggression against Ukraine perpetrated by the political and military leadership of the Russian Federation and its allies”, said Michael Gahler MEP and Andrius Kubilius MEP ahead of the plenary vote on the European Parliament's (EP) call for the establishment of a tribunal on the crime of aggression against Ukraine.

The text, an initiative of the EPP Group, points out that such a tribunal should be set up without delay, resulting from an international agreement between like-minded states and with the support of the United Nations General Assembly. The Members believe that its creation will fill an important existing legal gap in the current institutional set-up.

“The establishment of a special tribunal for the crime of aggression, the mother of all crimes, will fill a legal gap for such crimes for which Vladimir Putin has to be held accountable, and complement the work of the International Criminal Court which has no jurisdiction on this matter”, said Kubilius, the EP’s Standing Rapporteur on Russia. “Bringing justice to the victims of Putin’s aggression is a matter of EU international responsibility and credibility”, he added.

“We see the atrocities committed by the Russian troops against innocent civilians in Ukraine. We witness the deliberate Russian targeting of civilian infrastructure. Putin’s regime and its henchmen will be held accountable for all of that. It is now time for the EU to start building an international coalition of the willing to bring international justice and step up the fight against the impunity of the Russian aggression. Now is also the time for all Western powers to deliver what is required to push the 21st century Huns back to their own territory”, stressed Gahler, EPP Group Spokesman for Foreign Affairs.

The EPP Group also wants the special tribunal to investigate and prosecute the illegitimate leader of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko for allowing the territory of his country to be used for perpetrating acts of aggression against a third country, which is, in itself, a crime of aggression, according to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.