To judge war crimes in Ukraine, photos “will not be enough”, according to an expert

The brutal images of bodies scattered on a street in the Ukrainian city of Bucha They suggest war crimes, but providing legal evidence and even more judging the guilty is a complicated exercise, warned an international expert.

Philip Grant, director of the NGO Trial, specialized in the fight against impunity in the matter of crimes against humanity, warns in an interview with AFP: “The images themselves are rarely valid as conclusive evidence.”

“They may reveal important elements, but they won’t reveal the whole story,” adds Grant, who recommends remaining “cautious” and remembering past manipulations and misinterpretations.

The memory of the fake Timisoara massacre in Romania in 1989 remains vivid. Like the one in Katyn in 1940, perpetrated by the Soviet Union that accused the Nazis.

The dissemination in the international media of photos and videos made in Bucha showing bodies in the street, some with their hands tied behind their backs or partially burned, as well as mass graves, sparked international outrage.

The Ukrainian authorities claim that Russian soldiers massacred civilians, something that Moscow denies, accusing in turn Ukraine having set up a stage.

– War crime –

In the precise case of Bucha “it seems pretty clear that war crimes were committed,” says Grant.

The office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights estimated on Tuesday that everything points to “the victims being deliberately targeted,” which constitutes a de facto war crime.

But Philip Grant insists: images alone do not allow “attributing this responsibility to a precise person or group.”

Even if it is determined that “the Russians did it,” Grant explains, “we have to know who ordered this.” “Was [el presidente ruso] Vladimir Putin? Was it the commander on the ground? Was it a unit of unscrupulous?

“In terms of criminal liability, it is too early to say who should be brought to justice for these crimes,” he stresses.

The International Criminal Court, the UN Human Rights Council and a growing number of countries want to investigate war crimes in Ukraine since the Russian invasion on February 24, but Grant warns that they will have “a lot of work ahead of them”.

– Crime and Punishment –

The first step in any such investigation is to “make sure a crime was committed.” “This may seem obvious, but it isn’t always,” Grant recalls, especially in a conflict setting.

In times of war killing people can be legal: the death of a soldier in combat is not considered a crime, but it is if he is killed after he has been wounded or taken prisoner.

If soldiers die in combat and are buried in a mass grave, there is no crime. But “if a family, civilians, is found in the grave, then it is probably a crime,” explains the specialist.

Once it has been determined that a crime has been committed, comes the often much more complex task of figuring out who is responsible. War crimes involve “many layers” of responsibility throughout the chain of command and “up to the top,” he adds.

In these last cases, the most difficult thing is “to have access to the suspects”, he continues.

If the Ukrainian investigators “indicate the criminal responsibility of PutinYou have to catch the person.” “That is not going to be easy”, but “it is possible”, she estimates.

There is no statute of limitations for war crimes. In addition to his own Putin“There are probably hundreds of people in the security apparatus who could at any given time be held accountable, let alone soldiers on the ground,” according to Grant.

Source: Elcomercio

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