Human rights activists hand over to ICC evidence of using civilians by Russian military when seizing objects in Crimea in 2014

KYIV. Feb 26 (Interfax-Ukraine) - Human rights defenders from the Ukrainian Helsinki Union and the Regional Center for Human Rights have submitted evidence to the International Criminal Court (ICC) regarding the use of civilians by the Russian military during the seizure of objects in Crimea in 2014.

"This motion was sent to the International Criminal Court on February 21, 2019," said Maksym Tymochko, the lawyer of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, at Interfax-Ukraine on Tuesday at a press conference titled "Behind Backs of Women and Children" on Using Civilians by Russia as 'Human Shields' during Crimea's Occupation."

According to him, the document was prepared jointly with the prosecutor's office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.

The investigation found that the Russian forces not only deliberately moved the civilian population to the facilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but were "behind the backs" of people at the time of blocking and seizing these objects so that the Ukrainian military could not use weapons to protect themselves against the attack.

Human rights activists say that such a "human shield" consisted of four categories of citizens: Crimeans with pro-Russian and pro-Ukrainian views, civilians who were moved from the territory of Russia to participate in the occupation of the peninsula, as well as representatives of the Cossacks of the so-called "Crimean self-defense."

Tymochko added that at least 10 military objects were captured in this way.

According to Deputy Prosecutor of the Republic of Crimea (ARC) Ihor Ponochovny, such actions can be qualified as a separate type of war crimes in accordance with Article 8 of the ICC Rome Statute.

It is noted that the prohibition to use "human shields" is also enshrined in Article 28 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, Article 51 of the Additional Protocol to the Geneva Convention and the norm No. 97 of international humanitarian law.

At the moment, the prosecutor's office of the ARC is conducting a pretrial investigation under Article 438 (violation of the laws and customs of war) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

In addition, the Deputy Prosecutor reported that over the past few years, six informational reports on crimes in Crimea were transmitted to the ICC.