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GERMANY’S PROSECUTOR GENERAL said today that his office had collected “hundreds” of pieces of evidence showing war crimes by Russian forces in Ukraine, calling for an international effort to bring leaders to justice.
“At the moment we are focusing on mass killings in Bucha and attacks on Ukraine’s civil infrastructure,” prosecutor Peter Frank told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.
He said most of the evidence came from interviews with Ukrainian refugees, and the goal was now to “prepare for a possible later court case – whether in Germany or with our foreign partners or an international court”.
Frank’s office has previously used the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows the prosecution of certain grave crimes regardless of where they took place, to try Syrians over atrocities committed during the country’s civil war.
Under the same principle, a group of people from Myanmar last month filed a criminal complaint in Germany, accusing their country’s military of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Frank said his office had begun its Ukraine inquiry in March 2022.
“We are not targeting certain specific people in the investigation but rather are collecting information and evidence,” he said.
He acknowledged, however, that prosecution of suspected war criminals in Germany was possible only if they were in the country.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock last month called for a tribunal to get around the fact that the International Criminal Court (ICC), despite launching it own investigation last year, cannot prosecute Russia for any possible war crimes since neither Russia nor Ukraine are members of the Hague-based court.
“Who do we want to bring to justice? The leaders of state – those who took the decision to start the war – and the people who at the highest level of the military implement this decision,” Frank said.
“That would in my opinion call for a reckoning at the international level – whether via the International Criminal Court or before a special tribunal is in the end up to the international community.”
In the Kyiv suburb of Bucha alone, hundreds of bodies were discovered after the Russian army was driven out last March.
The killings sparked international condemnation and accusations of war crimes, which Moscow has repeatedly denied.
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This is all so very true. However, what many may not realise, is that when a death happens closer to Christmas, the following year may actually be worse. During the first Christmas, one is still feeling numb so it is the following Christmas that the pain of loss is really felt.
@Joan Brennan: so true Joan, I lost my Mum November 2014 and my Gran who reared me November last year, I barely remember last Christmas, it was so soon after, this year I’ve felt like I can barely breathe and I just desperately want the season and the ads and the decorations gone, it’s been overwhelming on the outside looking in because it only serves as a reminder of who is not here anymore.
@Trish: I am so very sorry. Take a breath and keep breathing. This may sound daft but keep talking to your loved ones, I do this all the time and it helps a little.
@Joan Brennan: Very true Joan, I lost my dad after a very short illness on 17 November, and 24 years later lost my mum on 15 November 2014, both first Christmases were just a blur no interest in any celebrations. My youngest arrived a month early and was born on dad’s anniversary, I’m both happy and sad this time of year a bittersweet time for me. This is our first Christmas after moving back to my parents house, it actually feels good to be home.
This is my first Christmas without my mam she died on New Years Eve. I was her full time carer. I’m finding this week very difficult crying for no reason and getting angry. So I’m dreading New Years even more and she loved Christmas
@Linda Hegarty: Yes you are going to find it difficult and you will miss her and also you are going to miss caring for someone. Sometimes it helps caring a little bit for someone else or even fostering a dog? The best person you can take care of now is yourself. Best wishes.
@Linda Hegarty: I am so sorry Linda because I know how the loss of your mam feels, I too lost my mam at Christmas time two years ago. It is perfectly understandable how you are feeling, you are grieving and memories keep flooding back of the times you shared and this is painful, you obviously loved and cared for your mam very dearly, grief is an individual journey, there are times when you cope better and times when it is all too much, be kind to yourself and remember the love between a mother and daughter is forever, hold on to the love, not the loss, kind regards.
Great article. Its so wrong to have this forced happiness shoved in our face every year! Its like im a outsider looking in, the world gone crazy for the week of xmas.
I much prefer easter, less commercial.
Wheres the scrouge party ? Whos coming?
My mam and dad died at Christmas ,My mam 26 December 1999 and when I was thinking of how hard the next Christmas without my mam was going to be my dad died 8 December 2000 so it was very hard for my family. I missed the two of them alot
They set a place at the table? They buy her a present? A friend of mine died with cf many years in the early 90s so I have a small insight into how such a loss can effect a family. A tethered bird can’t fly. Let go and remember the good times.
@sean o’dhubhghaill: everyones grief is personal,everyone grieves in their own way. I dont think you can have an insight into their loss of their child, unless you gave gone through the same experience.
@breda claffey: plenty people greiving without a death happening. My sympathy is with people alone, unloved and unimportant to anyone. Plenty homes will feature a lone man or woman, no Christmas card, no visitors , no decorations forgotten by everyone.
@Misanthrope:
There are indeed those who do not fit into the usual family pattern. They are the ones who seldom, if ever, are considered at this time of year.
In my own case, I am now an old man, and my partner of 43 years passed away at the end of September 2015. In the two following Christmases I travelled trying to avoid the devastating loneliness and the painfully bitter remembrance of happier times. This Christmas I decided I should no longer try to avoid the unavoidable, so I have stayed at home. It has not been easy. The sense of the finality gnaws at the emotions. But I call to mind that there are many whose situations are worse than mine and my heart goes out to them, and this puts my grief into a more balanced context
I know from previous bereavements in time’ ‘scar tissue’ will build over the current open would of loss, but the sense of loss always remains. The pain of grief will slowly metamorphose into memories. But travelling the road to that point is not easy. And for the present, even though I look for comfort wherever I can find it, the loneliness and sense of being bereft dominate what remains of my life. Peace and comfort to all who are bereaved.
All I can say to anyone grieving for a loved one at any time is try to remember the good times you shared with them, and remember how happy they were when they made you smile.
I cared for my late mum on my own for about fifteen years ago… Lost her on July 15th, 2014… First Christmas was just an endurance test “Get through it” was my motto!… I have found the intervening Christmas seasons much worse!… January 1st is REALLY bad for me at about 8pm… That was when Mum left the house by ambulance and never returned alive!… Thinking of, and praying for everyone who is grieving…. May your loved ones rest in peace….
@Carolyn Akintola: Carolyn I understand exactly how you are feeling. My mam had a stroke in my arms at 8pm on Stephens night my last memory of her at home last year and died at 7.30am on New Years Eve.
@Linda Hegarty: So sorry to hear about your mum… Yes, it’s awful, isn’t it???… My mum had Kidney Failure and Parkinson’s… Went into hospital on Jan 1st, and died six and a half months later… Wishing you peace, Linda…. Happy Christmas…..
x
@sean o’dhubhghaill: you have absolutely no insight into how the death of a child affects a family from the outside looking in. If setting a place etc comforts them a little, why not? It isn’t a matter of not letting go , it’s recognising that that person will always be a part of you. Personally I like to buy my late son a “gift” every time I go away – it feels like including him
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