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Russia's War Crimes All Over the World

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RUSSIA’S WAR CRIMES ALL OVER THE WORLD: From Chechnya To Syria 3 Introduction Year 2018 marked 19 years since Vladimir Putin be - Elimination of freedom of speech, repressions against the oppo - came de-facto authoritative leader of the Russian sition, usurpation of power, external aggression, occupations and Federation — a country that is a permanent member annexations of foreign territories, mass killings, ethnic cleansings, of the UN Security Council, which, it would seem, and numerous war crimes — this is what Putin’s Russia is asso - means it should bear a special responsibility for com - ciated with today. pliance with the international laws and protect regu - lations of the UN Statute. This brochure features facts indicating systemic and deliberate nature of military crimes committed by the Russian federation Yet Putin’s Russia has already gone to history as an in - during the last 19 years: in Chechnya, Ukraine, and Syria. These ternational subject with absolutely different character - crimes have no statute of limitations and, therefore, sooner or istics. Instead of development of a democracy in the later they should be investigated and the culpable brought to country and supporting peace outside its borders, justice. This list does not cover the full scale of crimes, yet it Putin’s Russia is engaged in curtailing rights and liberties would be sufficient to realize what Putin’s Russia really is. internally and instigating armed conflicts from outside. Russia’s War Crimes All Over the World: From Chechnya To Syria 4 Definition of a war crime - Willful killing; War Crime — is a deliberate gross violation of laws and cus - toms of war. It is a collective term included in the international - Torture or inhuman treatment, including biological experiments; law that combines a number of grave violations of rules of en - gagement, regulations and principles of the international hu - - Willfully causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or health; manitarian law that are committed deliberately or through gross negligence. War crime is one of international legal - Extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by crimes, which also include genocides, crimes against humanity, military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly; and aggressions. War crime is an international legal crime ac - cording to the statute of the International Criminal Court - Willfully depriving a prisoner of war or other protected person of the adopted on August 8, 1945. rights of fair and regular trial; The Rome Statute includes the following war crimes - Unlawful confinement; committed by Russia, examples of which are reviewed further below: - Intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population as such or against individual civilians not taking direct part in hostilities; Russia’s War Crimes All Over the World: From Chechnya To Syria 5 - Intentionally directing attacks against civilian objects, that is, objects - Destroying or seizing the enemy's property unless such destruction which are not military objectives; or seizure be imperatively demanded by the necessities of war; - Intentionally launching an attack in the knowledge that such attack will - Compelling the nationals of the hostile party to take part in the oper - cause incidental loss of life or injury to civilians; ations of war directed against their own country; - Attacking or bombarding, by whatever means, towns, villages, - Employing asphyxiating, poisonous or other gases, and all analogous dwellings or buildings which are undefended and which are not liquids, materials or devices; military objectives; - Employing weapons, projectiles and material and methods of warfare - Killing or wounding a combatant who, having laid down his arms or which are of a nature to cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suf - having no longer means of defense, has surrendered at discretion; fering or which are inherently indiscriminate in violation of the interna - tional law of armed conflict; - The transfer, directly or indirectly, by the Occupying Power of parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies, or the depor - - Intentionally using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare by de - tation or transfer of all or parts of the population of the occupied ter - priving them of objects indispensable to their survival, including willfully ritory within or outside this territory; impeding relief supplies as provided for under the Geneva Conventions. - Intentionally directing attacks against buildings dedicated to religion, education, art, science or charitable purposes, historic monuments, hos - pitals and places where the sick and wounded are collected, provided they are not military objectives; - Killing or wounding treacherously individuals belonging to the hostile nation or army; Воєнні злочини Росії в світі: від Чечні до Сирії 6 The Second Russian-Chechen War “The Declaration of Human Rights, having stood for less The International Federation of Human Rights and the human rights than half a century, ceased to work during the Second society “Memorial” gathered information that proves that civilians have Russian-Chechen War”, Anna Politkovskaya, journalist, who paid become the primary victims of the Russian military operation. Russian with her life for the truth about crimes of Putin’s Russia in Chechnya. military and Russian authorities bear the burden of responsibility for grave violations of human rights and the international humanitarian law, The Second Russian-Chechen War started immediately after appoint - as well as for committing a range of war crimes. ment of Vladimir Putin as a first deputy and an acting Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation. This war was not modern with regard to the international humanitarian law and principles of minimiza - tion of losses among a civilian population. The Second Russian-Chechen War crimes as a Russian War was characterized by a particular violence demonstrated by the strategy in Chechnya Russian military. It entailed deliberate attacks on civilian facilities, mass The very strategy of the federal troops of the Russian Federa - and show executions by firing squads, tortures, capital punishments, cre - tion stipulated commission of mass war crimes as it was based ation of de-facto concentration camps, constant pillaging and looting, on use of indiscriminate mass bombings and air strikes in resi - rapes, and large losses among a civilian population, which served no mil - dential areas with an aim of minimizing direct contact with itary advantage. Chechen military forces. Russian military deliberately bom - Russia’s War Crimes All Over the World: From Chechnya To Syria 7 barded residential districts so that Chechen forces would leave before the Russian army enters there. Mass killing in Novye Aldy Upon entering residential areas, the federal troops would begin On February 5, 2000, Russian military executed at least 56 civilians a so-called “cleansing”, which bears signs of war crimes. The in - in the village Novye Aldy and adjacent areas of Grozny city. Major - ternational humanitarian law demands there should be a strict ity of victims were Chechens, some were Russians. A so-called division between a civilian population and combatants, yet cri - “cleansing” was executed by Russian OMON riot squad, which teria proposed by the Russian command for definition of com - acted with particular cruelty, shooting children, women, elderly, and batants and civilians were quite fuzzy. In fact, all Chechen men even burning people alive. Witnesses also reported raping of of a certain age were considered as combatants: “Men aged from women, and decapitations. OMON would demand from civilians 25 to 40, physically able, with recently shaven beard and/or indi - gold and money first and shoot them afterwards — Russian mili - rect indications of carrying arms”. We can quote general Kazant - tary even removed golden teeth from dead bodies. sev, the Joint Force Commander of the Russian troops in Chechnya, who declared, on January 11, 2000, that “only women, In 2007, the European Court of Human Rights held proceedings children, and men over 65” should be considered as refugees. on the case “Musaev and others against Russia” — on mass killing He also added: “All others are to be detained pending investiga - of civilians in the village Novye Aldy. All claimants were relatives of tion for each particular case”. The objective of “neutralizing” and murdered people. On February 5, 2000, Yusup Musaev witnessed “eliminating” all “terrorists” that was assigned to Russian mili - killings of nine persons, seven of which were his relatives. Suleyman tary, as well as labelling of all male population of Chechnya as Magomadov came to Novye Aldy after the “cleansing” to bury re - “combatants” demonstrates a pursuit of causing harm to an en - mains of his two brothers, who were buried, possible alive, on Feb - tire category of persons, which is a war crime by definition. ruary 5th. Tamara Magomadova was wife of one of killed Magomadov’s brothers. Malika Labazanova witnessed the killing of three of her relatives by Russian military in her own backyard: 60- year-old woman, 70-year-old man, and 47-year-old disabled person. All of them were shot because they failed to collect money de - manded by murderers for sparing their lives. Russia’s War Crimes All Over the World: From Chechnya To Syria 8 The court in Strasbourg unanimously dismissed all arguments of convoy was suddenly attacked from the air. Dozens of people were the Russian government and confirmed that the Russian author - killed and injured. ities are responsible for unjustifiable killings of claimants’ rela - tives. The court also found that Russia failed to perform due The human rights center “Memorial” stated that the bombardment investigation and did not punish perpetrators, whom it had not of refugees near Shaami-Yurt on October 29 was not an exception. been a problem to identify, many of them did not conceal their The human rights advocates are aware of many other instances of faces with masks. refugee convoys bombardments that occurred during the autumn and winter of 1999 and in the early 2000.
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