{"id":24273,"date":"2023-01-01T09:31:37","date_gmt":"2023-01-01T14:31:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/?p=24273"},"modified":"2023-01-01T09:32:58","modified_gmt":"2023-01-01T14:32:58","slug":"ukraine-war-putin-should-face-trial-this-year-says-top-lawyer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2023\/01\/01\/ukraine-war-putin-should-face-trial-this-year-says-top-lawyer\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine war: Putin should face trial this year, says top lawyer"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Russian President Vladimir Putin should go on trial in Ukraine this year for war crimes committed there, says the man who led the prosecution of former Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Sir Geoffrey Nice told the BBC Mr Putin was a “guilty man” for attacks on civilian targets during the war.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The British barrister expressed his surprise that prosecutors and politicians were not “spelling this out much more freely and openly”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Russia denies committing war crimes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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But, speaking to Radio 4’s Broadcasting House programme, Sir Geoffrey described Moscow’s actions during the invasion as “crimes against humanity” – as civilian targets were being attacked.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Crimes against humanity are considered to be among the most serious offences under\u00a0the so-called “rules” of war<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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These laws ban attacks on civilians – or infrastructure vital to their survival – and are set out in international treaties such as the Geneva Conventions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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For example, Russia’s repeat attacks on the Ukrainian energy grid over the winter\u00a0have been described as war crimes<\/a>\u00a0because of the harm done to civilians. Russia insists it is hitting military targets only.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Moscow’s troops have been accused by the international community of thousands of abuses since their full-scale invasion of the neighbouring country last February.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The prosecutor-general in Kyiv says more than 62,000 war crimes have so far been recorded, including the deaths of more than 450 children. The BBC has not been able to verify these figures.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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