German Prosecutor General Says Collecting Evidence Of War Crimes In Ukraine

German Prosecutor General Says Collecting Evidence of War Crimes in Ukraine

Germany is currently collecting information and evidence of war crimes allegedly committed by Russia in Ukraine, while preparing for a possible court trial on this case, German Prosecutor General Peter Frank said on Saturday

BERLIN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th February, 2023) Germany is currently collecting information and evidence of war crimes allegedly committed by Russia in Ukraine, while preparing for a possible court trial on this case, German Prosecutor General Peter Frank said on Saturday.

"We started the process of a structural investigation in the beginning of March. It means that we are not investigating certain individuals just yet, we are collecting information and evidence. The main focus is now on interviewing Ukrainian refugees who can have information on war crimes in Ukraine," Frank told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.

The prosecutor general added that Germany's Federal criminal police office was also assessing available sources of information on the military operation that Russia launched in Ukraine last February in regard to potential crimes there.

"And so we are preparing for a possible court trial whether it could take place in Germany or be conducted by our foreign partners or an international court," Frank added.

On March 2, 2022, the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) started investigating war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine. On March 11, Prosecutor Karim Khan said an investigative team had started gathering evidence.

On Thursday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said during the 24th EU-Ukraine Summit in Kiev that the EU supported the ICC investigation, while also announcing the creation of an international center for the prosecution of the "crime of aggression" in Ukraine that would coordinate the collection of evidence of alleged crimes.

Russian officials reject any allegations of committing war crimes, stating that rather the military actions of the Ukrainian army in relation to the people living in the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, incorporated into Russia in September last year, should be investigated.