He United States Department of Justice will collaborate with International Criminal Court (TPI) to share evidence of possible Russian war crimes in Ukraineinvestigations that until then had been blocked by the concern of an eventual prosecution of US troops deployed abroad.
“The United States will cooperate with ICC investigations of foreign nationals emerging from the dire situation in Ukraine. The Department of Justice will be an integral part of that cooperation,” said the United States Attorney General, merrick garlandduring a speech.
“Two months ago, I visited the ICC in The Hague, the first time a US cabinet member has done so, and met with its chief prosecutor, Karim Khan. The goal was to take advantage of the ongoing cooperation between the court and the US government on a variety of issues, including Ukraine,” Garland added.
On the other hand, the attorney general praised the investigations carried out by the Ukrainian authorities to collect evidence of possible Russian war crimes in bombed sites such as hospitals, residential buildings, theaters or schools.
In addition, he reported that they have exhumed “mass graves” and “carefully” studied the bodies of the victims to “to tell the stories of those who can no longer do so”.
In this sense, the Ukrainian investigations would have also managed to prove the deportation of Ukrainian children or the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war.
At the end of July, Joe Biden ordered his government to start sharing evidence of alleged war crimes committed by Russian troops in Ukraine with the ICC.
The White House, however, declined to discuss the details of any cooperation with the ICC.
“Since the beginning of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, the president has been clear: There must be accountability for the perpetrators and facilitators of war crimes and atrocities in Ukraine.”said a spokesman for the National Security Council.
“About the ICC specifically, we will not be discussing the details of any cooperation, which is consistent with the court’s practice of treating cooperation requests confidentially,” the spokesperson added.
He also said that the United States had previously sent international investigative teams and prosecutors to assist the General Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine in preparing war crimes cases.
The TPI opened an investigation into possible US crimes in Afghanistan in 2017, after which the Donald Trump Administration expressed its outrage and imposed sanctions on the prosecutor. Court officials later announced that the case against US forces in Afghanistan would receive lower priority.
The Pentagon had opposed the move, privately arguing that any cooperation with the court could open the way for a politicized prosecution of US troops deployed abroad.
(With information from Europa Press)
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Source-www.infobae.com