Gordon Brown backs Nuremberg-style trial for Putin

[struggle4progress]

By Kathryn Snowdon & Lauren Turner
BBC News
Published 6 hours ago

Gordon Brown and Sir John Major want a new international tribunal to be set up to investigate Vladimir Putin for his actions in Ukraine.

The former PMs are among 140 academics, lawyers and politicians to sign a petition calling for a legal system modelled on the Nuremberg trials of Nazi war criminals after World War Two ...

Mr Brown said the war had seen the indiscriminate bombing of civilians, which is against international law, as well as breaches of humanitarian ceasefires and "nuclear blackmail" ...

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-60803155

[mopinko]

1. i dont think this bothers pootie, but the generals are watching.

as are at least some of the russian people.

[struggle4progress]

2. Since there's no "following orders" defense, potential prosecution runs down

the whole command structure

[dchill]

3. It's a pity that there's so much money swirling in the air...

... in the political wind tunnel. Laws national and international have little sway in the circumstances. They are virtually abrogated by the sheer power of the billions.

[brooklynite]

4. Meaningless...

A Nuremberg trial assumes that the aggressor nation has been fully defeated and the leaders in custody. That will not be the situation with Russia, absent an internal revolution (and even then not likely; he'll have domestic crimes to answer for).

[struggle4progress]

5. Online volunteers hunting for war crimes in Ukraine

By Tanya Basuarchive page
March 16, 2022

... Skills gained from the January 6 insurrection in the US and subsequent efforts to find the rioters online have translated to online sleuths using those same skills in the war in Ukraine. But whether and how that effort will actually result in admissible evidence for a potential war crimes prosecution is unclear, especially without a universal system to categorize the flood of incoming evidence.

Human rights organizations have already sent professional investigators to Ukraine to collect data of possible war crimes ...

In an information war where rumors and disinformation fly rampant, verification is key. It’s not enough to just see a video of an attack or a photo of dead bodies, and with internet communication down in many parts of the country, Weir has had to resort to analog methods to confirm incidents, trekking to locations or talking to refugees to get a firsthand account of what happened ...

https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/03/16/1047322/ukraine-russia-war-crimes-evidence/

[struggle4progress]

6. Is a war crimes tribunal in Putin's future?

William F. Felice
Published Earlier today

In response to Russian forces shelling a maternity hospital in Mariupol in early March, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared that Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Russian leaders “will definitely be prosecuted for complicity in war crimes … (and) … will be hated by Russian citizens.” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson agreed tweeting, “There are few things more depraved than targeting the vulnerable and defenseless,” adding that Putin will be held “to account for his terrible crimes.” And Wednesday, after remarks at the White House, President Joe Biden said bluntly: “I think he is a war criminal” ...

Forty-five out of the 57 members in the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) defied Russia and approved plans in March to dispatch a team of OSCE experts to document potential war crimes. Incidents already documented include Russian’s targeting of schools and hospitals in residential areas inside Ukraine with missiles, bombs and artillery. Russia is also accused of using cluster munitions and thermobaric rockets, both prohibited under international arms treaties.

The UN Human Rights Council voted to establish a commission to investigate violations committed by Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine. The mandate of the independent international Commission of Inquiry includes investigating all alleged rights violations and abuses and recommending accountability measures. In addition, 70 Human Rights experts affiliated with the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights have articulated the long-lasting consequences from Russian aggression for all human rights in Ukraine, including the forced displacement of millions and the destruction of essential infrastructure for water, food, education and health care ...

perhaps the most significant accountability action toward Putin personally was taken by Karim Khan, chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC). Khan launched an ICC investigation into all these alleged atrocity crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine. The ICC is the only global tribunal that has the jurisdiction to hold individuals, including army soldiers, rebel fighters and heads of state, accountable for war crimes, crimes against humanity, aggressive war, and genocide. Will Putin eventually face an ICC War Crimes Tribunal? Is this something he should fear? ...

https://www.tampabay.com/opinion/2022/03/19/is-a-war-crimes-tribunal-in-putins-future-column/

[brooklynite]

7. Russia doesn't recognize ICC jurisdiction (neither does the US)

Unless he decides to take a foreign vacation alone, he's not going to be delivered to the Court.

[Sneederbunk]

8. I was thinking Ceausescu.

[marie999]

9. Why just Putin? Why not all war criminals no matter what country?

What is happening in Ukraine is horrible but I guess it is getting all the news because it is White people who are getting killed.