Ukraine: Amnesty International says it has "irrefutable evidence" of war crimes

Océane Théard, edited by Solène Leroux 7:21 p.m., May 06, 2022

War crimes have indeed been committed in Ukraine.

Amnesty International claims to have "irrefutable evidence".

The NGO's report has just been published, it highlights the abuses committed by Russian soldiers on civilians.

Like this retired couple in a small village northwest of kyiv.

Russian soldiers enter their house and lock them in the basement.

Later, one of the soldiers asks the old man for a cigarette.

He does not have it.

The soldier shoots him in the arm.

"Finish him," replies his colleague.

The soldier shoots him in the head.

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Testimonies like this, Amnesty has already collected 45. Europe 1 has also collected the testimony of Vladislav, a resident of Boutcha.

He testified a few weeks ago at the microphone of William Molinié, special envoy to Ukraine.

"There was a grandfather sitting on a bench in his yard. He was making a fire to eat. He had no electricity or water," he explained then.

"A guy dressed in black just shot him. They were in black uniforms. Some said it was the special services, others said it was Kadyrov's men. But all of them were shooting at anything that moved , without mercy."

"Violations of international law"

What methods did Amnesty International investigators use to gather this "irrefutable evidence"?

They settled in eight cities, particularly affected by the attacks of the Russians.

For twelve days, they collected more than 40 testimonies from relatives of victims, their families, their neighbors.

They cross-referenced them, took pictures of the crime scenes and analyzed fragments of ammunition. 

A work of documentation, of investigation essential to shed light on these abuses, explains Jean-Claude Samouiller.

"Killing unarmed civilians is an abomination. These are war crimes, these are violations of international law", explains the vice-president of Amnesty International France.

Evidence handed over to the ICC

"It means that it's a war without limits, it's a war without rules, it's a war where we take the civilian populations hostage, if only in the cities which are besieged, where the people are starving, without water, without electricity, without heating, without telephone network or Internet."

For him, there is no doubt: "With this siege warfare, we are taking the civilian populations hostage."

This precious evidence of war crimes will notably be handed over to the International Criminal Court, to "be able to judge the perpetrators", assures Jean-Claude Samouiller, but also those who let them do it.