Justice Secretary Dominic Raab is visiting the International Criminal Court (ICC) today to offer the UK’s help in gathering evidence to prosecute Vladimir Putin for possible war crimes in Ukraine.
Mr Raab will meet the court’s prosecutor, British lawyer Karim AA Khan, in The Hague to offer “technical support in bringing those responsible for war crimes in Ukraine to justice”.
He said that will include supporting with “the immediate priority of gathering and preserving evidence”.
The justice secretary added: “Russian commanders carrying out war crimes should know they cannot act with impunity.
“Like Radovan Karadzic and Charles Taylor before them, their actions risk landing them in a jail cell.”
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Mr Raab will offer the UK’s assistance in gathering evidence to prosecute Russian war crimes in Ukraine
The UK will offer a range of evidence gathering help, from police and military analysis to specialist IT and legal expertise.
A statement from the Ministry of Justice said: “It might eventually lead to witness relocation and imprisoning those found guilty, as the UK has done for previous war crimes.”
Ukraine developments:
Countries grouping together for evidence gathering
Mr Raab will also meet “ambassadors” from other countries so they can all help the ICC to investigate war crimes in Ukraine.
Before becoming an MP, Mr Raab was the Foreign Office’s head of war crimes at the British embassy in The Hague, and negotiated agreements that have since allowed for witnesses to be relocated to the UK.
It also led to convicted war criminals serving their sentences in UK prisons, including former Republika Srpska leader Radovan Karadzic who was convicted of genocide in Bosnia, and former Liberian president Charles Taylor, who was convicted of war crimes in Sierra Leone.
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Hospital attacks ‘are war crimes’
Pregnant woman’s death a ‘war crime’
Ahead of Mr Raab’s visit, it was revealed a pregnant woman pictured being evacuated from a bombed maternity hospital in Mariupol last week has died, as has her baby.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid told Sky News’ Kay Burley it was a war crime.
A pregnant woman pictured being stretchered from a bombed maternity hospital later died, along with her baby
“It’s an appalling atrocity. It’s a war crime. Because under international law you cannot attack health facilities, hospitals,” he said.
He said the World Health Organisation has documented evidence of “at least 31 such attacks of health facilities” in Ukraine by Russia, including the shelling of a cancer hospital at the end of last week.
Single Russian toe cap ‘will be war with NATO’
Mr Javid added that any infringement of Russia into a NATO country “will be a war with NATO”.
“If there was an attack on any NATO country, even just a single toe cap of a Russian soldier steps into NATO territory, it will be a war with NATO and NATO would respond.
“There would be a significant response from NATO if there was any kind of attack from Russia, we’ve been very, very clear on that.”
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Asked if NATO would get involved if there was a chemical attack in Ukraine, he said: “Our message has been very clear from the start, any kind of attack, anything that touches NATO territory or impacts NATO in any significant way, then we would respond.”