US senators demand that the Pentagon hand over evidence of Russian war crimes to the Hague Tribunal
The Pentagon leadership is opposed to helping the court investigate the Russians, as they fear setting a precedent that could lead to prosecution of the military
U.S. senators are increasing pressure on the Pentagon to force the military to turn over evidence of Russian crimes in Ukraine to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Source. This was reported by the Voice of America.
During a hearing in the US Senate, a number of lawmakers sharply criticized the actions of the Pentagon, which, as they put it, "is not on the list of American agencies" that cooperate with the Hague Tribunal, which is investigating Russian war crimes in Ukraine.
These crimes include child abduction, rape, torture, and mass executions. The Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine has documented more than 77,000 war crimes, and the number continues to grow, the senators reminded.
Democratic Senator Dick Durbin, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, asked U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin why the Department of Defense did not hand over evidence of Russian crimes to ICC Prosecutor Kareem Khan.
He recalled that, given the importance of investigating and prosecuting war crimes, last year Congress legislated to allow the United States to share critical war crimes evidence and intelligence with the International Criminal Court. But despite this, the Pentagon has not handed over its data to the ICC.
"We have one president. We have one commander-in-chief. But I am not sure that we have the same policy towards the war criminal Putin. I would like to ask you directly: why are you unwilling to share the evidence that we have gathered in the United States through the Department of Defense with those who are holding Putin accountable for his war crimes?" asked Senator Durbin.
To this question, Secretary Austin replied that he fully agreed that President Putin should be held accountable for war crimes, but that his priority was to protect the American military.
He added that Ukrainian and international investigations are important for accountability. But as Austin said, "I will always prioritize protecting U.S. military personnel and everything we do."
According to the New York Times, the Pentagon leadership is opposed to the court's assistance in investigating the Russians because they fear setting a precedent that could help pave the way for future prosecutions of the US military.
According to journalists, the information that the Pentagon may provide to the ICC includes materials about the decision of Russian officials to deliberately target civilian infrastructure and abduct thousands of Ukrainian children from the occupied territory.
Background. As a reminder, in March, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Russian President Putin and Russian Children's Ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova in connection with the mass deportations of Ukrainian children to Russia.
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