George and Amal Clooney want German prosecutors to investigate "crimes committed by Russian forces" in Ukraine since its full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
The Clooney Foundation for Justice (CFJ) called on German federal prosecutors to investigate what it described as "war crimes," including a missile strike in Odessa which killed 22 people.
Lawyers and investigators working at CFJ's The Docket initiative filed the papers in conjunction with Ukrainian NGO, Truth Hands. They also shared their research findings with Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in an effort to aid the ICC's "efforts to bring Russia's top leadership to justice for crimes committed in Ukraine."
"International commitment around accountability for crimes committed in Ukraine has been unprecedented since the beginning of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine," said Anya Neistat, legal director of The Docket in a statement. "But it is now the time to see words turn into real action—and we are counting on German prosecutors to lead the way."
The CFJ explained that it filed its plea in Germany because the country has what is known as "absolute universal jurisdiction." Under German law, a criminal investigation can be opened for international crimes committed outside of Germany, regardless of the nationality of the victim or perpetrators or any other connection to Germany. Some of the people The Docket is representing live in Germany or are willing to travel there to provide testimony.
Germany is also one of the European countries that has a dedicated unit for war crimes prosecutions. After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it opened a "structural" investigation into crimes committed during the war. Germany has been collecting evidence relevant to The Docket's investigation.
The three cases are filed against mid and high level commanders that The Docket identified as alleged suspects. The first case represents 11 families and survivors of the 2022 Odessa bombing which also injured 40 people.
Next is an incident involving commanders of Russian ground forces who "unlawfully detained, tortured, and executed four men in the Kharkiv region during their occupation of the area from March to September 2022."
The third case submitted to prosecutors singles out the commanders of Russian units allegedly involved in a "pattern of crimes." Those crimes include executions, torture, sexual violence, looting and other violations, which The Docket says happened during the Kyiv region occupation in March 2022. The Docket is representing a survivor of torture and the family of a man killed by Russian forces during that time.
"Our team spent one and a half years interviewing witnesses, carrying out field work, analyzing documents, going through satellite imagery, deciding on the best legal approach, and preparing survivors and families of the victims for the process," said Neistat. "I am now confident that the cases are strong, and that they will offer German courts a real chance to deliver justice to the survivors."
If the cases are accepted, prosecutors can open a criminal investigation and issue arrest warrants for the people named in the legal documents. Not only could the alleged perpetrators be arrested, but they could also face extradition, and prosecution. The arrest warrants can be carried in countries outside of Germany through the Europol and Interpol systems. The ICC can also issue arrest warrants against the key suspects.
While Ukrainian prosecutors could have run the investigations and criminal trial there, they are working under immense pressure and need all the help they can get.
"Ukrainian law enforcement agencies are doing their best to cover the unprecedented scale of war crimes committed in the country, they are overloaded and have limited options under Ukrainian law for pursuing the commanders and masterminds of the crimes," said Maryna Slobodianiuk, the Head of Investigations Department at Truth Hounds. "We believe that by opening these proceedings, Germany can significantly contribute to the efforts of ensuring justice for all Ukrainian survivors."
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Shannon Power is a Greek-Australian reporter, but now calls London home. They have worked as across three continents in print, ... Read more
