ICC chief prosecutor on Russia’s war crimes in Bucha: Will get to the truth

While examining the images of alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Karim Khan told CNN that Moscow will have a “case to answer in due course” for its crimes in the Ukrainian city of Bucha. 

“We will get to the truth because there’s no place to hide in the courtroom. Whatever the narratives and counter-narratives, the evidence should properly be tested … and there will be — I think — a case to answer in due course,” Khan responded during a lengthy interview when he was questioned about how the ICC could build a case in Ukraine.

Khan expressed so after looking at the images shared by Ukrainian prosecutors of suspected war crimes committed by Russia. 

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Back in March, Bucha experienced some of the most brutal Russian atrocities. Gruesome images of civilian corpses scattered on the streets of the town left the world in shock. 

While Russia has denied being responsible for the killing spree by claiming that the images are “fake”, Khan has slammed Kremlin’s lies. 

“Those bodies that are in those bags on the screen are not fake. I’ve seen them. I stood beside them. The issue is how did they die, who is responsible and in what circumstances?” he said on Tuesday. 

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“We need to go forward in a way that’s much more effective perhaps than in the past,” Khan added.

In its two-decades-long history, the ICC began its first joint probe by being a part of an EU investigation into the war crimes perpetrated by Russia in Ukraine.

A statement by the EU’s judicial cooperation agency read- “The Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC in The Hague will become a participant in the joint investigation team (JIT) on alleged core international crimes committed in Ukraine.”

During a recent visit to Borodianka and Bucha, Khan mentioned that there were “reasonable grounds to believe that crimes within the jurisdiction of the ICC” were being carried out in those towns.