Report raises case against Vladimir Putin for war crimes
According to HRW there should be a trial against Vladimir Putin for war crimes, following the events in Mariupol.
This proposal, joins other cases that could serve in a possible trial against Vladimir Putin for war crimes.
“Russia’s Vladimir Putin for war crimesface a war crimes investigation for Moscow’s brutal attack on Mariupol, which left thousands dead, countless buildings destroyed, and was followed by a widespread Russification campaign,” said HRW, Human Rights Watch (HRW).
This NGO dedicated to human rights in the world, presented a new report that analyzes the situation of devastation caused in the Ukrainian city.
But what is the basis of the HRW report to propose a trial against Vladimir Putin for war crimes?
The international watchdog found that Russia’s siege of the city in 2022 involved repeated attacks and destruction of civilian buildings and infrastructure, an apparent violation of international humanitarian law.
Report raises case against Vladimir Putin for war crimes.
To add further to the record, the report adds that there are about 8,000 people who died as a direct result of the fighting, based in part on a review of satellite imagery, photographs and videos of the city’s cemeteries, but noted that the figure is a conservative estimate.
The 215-page report, which proposes the prosecution of Vladimir Putin for war crimes, is based on a nearly two-year investigation conducted in conjunction with the Ukrainian human rights group Truth Hounds, details efforts by Russian authorities to erase Ukrainian culture from the city since its capture, limiting the movements of Ukrainians and imposing a pro-Kremlin policy in its schools and public spaces.
According to reports, Russian forces surrounded Mariupol just days after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, before launching a months-long bombardment to wipe out the tenacious Ukrainian military resistance.
Battered Mariupol
The city, which lies on the Sea of Azov in southeastern Ukraine, witnessed some of the heaviest and most vicious fighting of the war.
The report, which supports a possible prosecution of Vladimir Putin for war crimes, traces the destruction by Russian forces of thousands of buildings, including hundreds of high-rise apartment blocks and civilian infrastructure such as hospitals, schools and universities.
It also identified 17 Russian or Russian-affiliated military and national guard units operating in the city during the peak of the fighting in March and April 2022, as well as senior figures who it said could bear criminal responsibility.
The HRW report recommends that he and other senior commanders be properly investigated and prosecuted for their role in apparent war crimes related to the campaign in Mariupol, for unlawful attacks and “the possible arbitrary blocking of humanitarian aid and evacuations.”
The authors of the report included interviews with 240 people, mostly displaced residents of Mariupol, and analyzed local records, satellite imagery and photographs to reach their conclusions.
The Kremlin denied many of these claims, including the use of filtration camps to cover up irregularities and target civilians in Mariupol.
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