New materials on Euromaidan crimes filed to Hague

On October 5, the materials proving the scale and systemic character of crimes against civilians committed during the Euromaidan events were filed to the International Criminal Court. A formal letter to the court in Hague was signed at the press conference by Markiyan Galabala, one of the Heavenly Hundred’s attorneys, and Roman Romanov, Human Rights and Justice Program Initiative Director, the International Renaissance Foundation.

On October 5, the materials proving the scale and systemic character of crimes against civilians committed during the Euromaidan events were filed to the International Criminal Court. A formal letter to the court in Hague was signed at the press conference by Markiyan Galabala, one of the Heavenly Hundred’s attorneys, and Roman Romanov, Human Rights and Justice Program Initiative Director, the International Renaissance Foundation.

The Foundation coordinated the efforts of 13 civil society organizations and volunteer groups to collect and summarize the data in question and file the first data submission to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in January 2015. It was followed by a formal submission from the Prosecutor General of Ukraine to Hague. Since then, within the framework of the preliminary examination and evaluation of the case (namely, whether crimes committed in the territory of Ukraine between November 21, 2013, and February 22, 2014, fall into the category determined in the Rome Statute), two authorized representatives of the ICC Prosecutor Office visited Ukraine twice, considering that Ukraine was for the first time mentioned in the annual report published by the Assembly of the state parties to the Rome Statute in November 2015. 

 “Ukraine has long signed though not yet ratified the Rome Statute, – reminded Roman Romanov. – However, it recognized the temporary jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court by individual acts twice. That is, we assumed duties, giving up rights. This is a strange position for the Ukrainian state, we do not understand it. But it does not block opportunities for cooperation”.

Roman Romanov said that at present, whereas a full investigation of the case has not yet begun, however, it has been agreed to study the situation and lawyers representing the civil society are actively working with the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC. In particular, during the year a huge array of new information was collected, which may influence a decision of the Prosecutor.

“The decision of the ICC to open an investigation of war crimes in 2008 in South Ossetia, Georgia, waited six years, said Roman Romanov. – How long we have to wait for Ukraine, no one knows. However, we must exert all and every effort to start the investigation”.

This being the case, he reminded that the Rome Statute provides for liability not for general criminal offenses whereas its mandate covers prosecution for crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide.

“We took the key events in Ukraine, in Kiev, and have divided episodes among the attorneys who were just preparing that submission, said one of the Heavenly Hundred’s attorneys Markiyan Galabala. – That submission, with only the descriptive part of it comprising 100 pages, includes evidences collected by the Heavenly Hundred lawyers as well as the materials of criminal proceedings of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine. The legal framework has to be impeccable. This is the situation we were in, and therefore we realize that the system worked against the society, whereas those who were never here and who operate only with documents and evidences, might have seen clear signs of growing resistance. Moreover, it is necessary to prove that the peak of the confrontation on February 20 resulted from a series of events, in particular, the laws of January 16, and January 19 events that were “inspired” by those laws, and that all events that began on November 30, 2013, represented a complex of events”.

Pavlo Dykan, another Heavenly Hundred attorney, noted that the materials handed over to the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC contain the data, which confirm the scale and systemic character of crimes of the government during the Revolution of Dignity. It is exactly what was missing to make a decision to start a full investigation.

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