On the sidelines of the “Eventi Letterari” on Monte Verità ob Ascona, former UN chief prosecutor Carla Del Ponte reiterated her call for an international arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin. It is also time for the United States to become a contracting party to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Del Ponte said at the beginning of the media conference in the empty swimming pool on Monte Verità that she was perhaps the only person who knew how to do it to bring an incumbent president before the International Criminal Court. Milosevic was also still in office when the first arrest warrant against him was issued. That’s why she believes it’s possible to bring Putin to justice, Del Ponte said.
She has known the Russian President for a long time, the former federal prosecutor continued. “The cluster bombs in Syria showed Russian symbols. I want to know what signs the cluster bombs in Ukraine carry.”
Picture:
Keystone/Martial Trezzini
This is the last moment in which she expresses herself, Del Ponte noted. “I am retired”. At the same time, she simply had to talk, the Ticino native explained: “I’m always on the side of the victims and I’m looking for justice for the victims.” The war in Yugoslavia taught her that bringing those responsible to justice is incredibly important for the victims.
Del Ponte continued, therefore, that it is now essential to collect evidence of war crimes in Ukraine on an ongoing basis. “Proving that Putin is primarily responsible for this war is the hardest part of the job.” The secret services could help, but videos circulating on the Internet would also have to be checked for authenticity. And it is necessary to autopsy the killed civilians, emphasized Del Ponte.
When asked by a journalist how high she thought the chances of a trial were, Del Ponte said that only when Putin was no longer president could he be brought before the International Criminal Court. “The judiciary is very patient. There is no statute of limitations for these crimes. And Putin won’t stay president forever.”
Another media worker wanted to know if she saw signs of genocide in this war. Del Ponte denied: So far she has not seen enough elements to justify speaking of “genocide”. However, it could be that the Ukrainian President Zelenskiy, who accuses Putin of genocide against the Ukrainian people, has other information.