Swedish justice announced Tuesday, April 5 the opening of a preliminary investigation into possible war crimes in Ukraine, while the accusations against the Russian forces multiply.
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The investigation aims to collect evidence for future legal proceedings, “
either in Sweden, before a court in another state or before an international tribunal such as the International Criminal Court (ICC)
,” the prosecution said in a statement.
The procedure was entrusted to the section of the prosecution in charge of international crimes but no suspect is directly targeted for the moment, according to justice.
Sweden applies the principle of extraterritoriality in matters of war crimes, meaning that it can try serious crimes committed in a third country.
The prosecution has called on people who have been victims or witnesses of violence against civilians to contact the police section in charge of war crimes.
"
Based on the information available in Ukraine, there are reasons to believe that serious war crimes have been committed there
," he said.
Western countries have shown their outrage after the discovery of dozens of bodies wearing civilian clothes in Boutcha, northwest of kyiv, following the withdrawal of Russians from the vicinity of the Ukrainian capital.
Read alsoMassacres in Boutcha: can we speak of “genocide” in Ukraine?
In a speech before the UN, Ukrainian President Zelensky called for Russia to be "
held accountable
" for "
war crimes
".
The Hague-based ICC prosecutor's office already opened a preliminary investigation into possible war crimes in Ukraine on March 3, after receiving support from more than 40 member states of the court.
Since the start of the invasion on February 24, thousands of Ukrainians have been killed, several million forced from their homes and entire neighborhoods of some cities have been destroyed by bombardment.
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