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Germany has tools for prosecuting war crimes in Ukraine

German Justice Minister Marco Bushmann gave an interview to Deutsche Welle about what Germany can do to prosecute war crimes in Ukraine.

EU justice ministers met in Luxembourg on Thursday, and on the sidelines of the meeting, German Justice Minister Marco Bussmann gave an interview to Deutsche Welle. To the question of what Germany can do in particular, so that the perpetrators of war crimes in Ukraine can be brought to justice and held accountable for the crimes attributed to them, he answers:

“Germany has opened up the so-called structural investigation process. We can prosecute war crimes committed abroad, which are also committed by non-Germans against non-German victims. And we have already tried it successfully against war criminals, for example “This process now guarantees that we are systematically collecting and securing evidence so that it can later be used in criminal proceedings if the perpetrators are arrested.”

Cooperation with international criminal justice

Mr. Bushman adds that the data is also sent to the international criminal prosecution authorities. The European Union Agency for Cooperation in the Field of Criminal Justice (Eurojust) is also involved in the investigations. The aim of the European Agency, among others, is to coordinate investigations and prosecutions involving at least two countries and to help resolve disputes over jurisdiction. Regarding the possible prosecution of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the German Minister of Justice is clear:

“From a German point of view, we can not oust Vladimir Putin, at least as long as he is the current head of state.”

The Russian oligarchs and the Putin regime

Finally, regarding the so-called Russian oligarchs, wealthy businessmen who support the Putin regime, and the seizure of their property, Mr. Bushman answers:

“First of all, because someone is from Russia and he is rich, we can not just take away his property. We are in Europe, we see ourselves as rule of law, we have fundamental rights, we have the guarantee of property. However, if we can prove it. that someone has committed a criminal offense, someone is co-responsible for an illegal offensive war, someone may have contributed to war crimes etc, then in German criminal law there is the means of confiscating property.But it is very important for me to keep our identity Even criminals and people who commit heinous acts must be dealt with in a constitutional way because otherwise we would have lost a part of ourselves. to act as rule of law “.

Interview: Marina Strauss

Edited by: Maria Rigoutsou

Source: Deutsche Welle

Source: Capital

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