Former UN Chief Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte has asked for an international arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin in connection with the invasion of Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was a “war criminal,” according to the former UN chief prosecutor, because of his conduct in Ukraine.
Ms. Del Ponte was the UN prosecutor in charge of war crimes courts in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.
‘Putin is a war criminal,’ she said in an interview with the Swiss weekly Le Temps published on Saturday.
She was particularly disturbed by Russia’s use of mass graves in its assault on Ukraine, which she compared to the worst of the former Yugoslavia’s wars.
‘I had hoped to never witness mass graves again,’ she told Blick.
‘These dead folks have loved ones who have no idea what happened to them. This is inexcusable.’
Attacks on civilians, the destruction of civilian buildings, and even the razing of entire towns are among the other war crimes she uncovered in Ukraine. She also stated that the investigation in Ukraine would be less difficult than the investigation in Yugoslavia because Ukraine had requested an international investigation.
Karim Khan, the current chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), paid a visit to Ukraine last month.
‘You must move up the chain of command until you reach those who took the choices,’ she stated if the ICC discovers proof of war crimes.
She stated that even Mr. Putin may be held accountable.
‘You must not give up; you must continue your investigation.’ Slobodan Milosevic was still president of Serbia when the inquiry into him began. Who would have guessed that he would be judged one day? ‘No one,’ she said to Blick.
Ms Del Ponte stated that investigations into probable war crimes perpetrated by both sides should be conducted, citing accounts of alleged torture of Russian prisoners of war by Ukrainian forces.