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Disinfo: International Criminal Court demonises Russia in the Ukrainian conflict

Summary

The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court is trying not only to make Russia a participant in the conflict but also to impose on Russia the duties of an “occupying power” both in relation to Crimea (she directly writes: “Russia’s annexation of Crimea”) and in relation to the eastern regions of Ukraine.

The prosecutor fulfils an order for the legal demonisation of Russia in the Ukrainian conflict. And she does it legally so rudely that there is no doubt about the unscrupulous nature of her actions.

The individuals who committed a coup d’etat in the country and used violence against a part of their own population are regarded in The Hague as legitimate authority!

Disproof

This is an example of recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation on Ukraine and, in particular, the examination by the International Criminal Court of the crimes committed in Ukraine during the 2013-2014 protests in Crimea and Donbas.

The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) did not demonise Russia. The Prosecutor did not call Russia an occupying power in Crimea or Donbas. In the statement, the Prosecutor mentioned that in order to establish the truth, the ICC is going to cooperate with the authorities of Ukraine and Russia equally.

The Prosecutor announced that the stage of a preliminary examination of the situation in Ukraine that opened on 24 April 2014, is over. The Prosecutor's Office has concluded that there is a reasonable basis at this time to believe that a broad range of conduct constituting war crimes and crimes against humanity within the jurisdiction of the Court has been committed in the context of the situation in Ukraine. Therefore, it was established that the statutory criteria for opening investigations into the situation in Ukraine are met.

The Prosecutor also stated that all the findings of the preliminary examination will be spelt out in more detail in ICC's annual Report on Preliminary Examination Activities.

Previously, the Office of the Prosecutor informed on the progress in annual reports. The report for 2019 informed that the Prosecutor shall deliver the conclusion by the end of 2020.

The International Criminal Court acts in accordance with the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Article 53 clearly defines the reasons when an investigation is initiated. One of them states that an investigation opens if there is "a reasonable basis to believe that a crime [...] has been or is being committed".

See similar disinformation cases with respect to the ICC: that the Hague court did not recognise the sovereignty of Ukraine over Crimea, that the Hague court recognised Crimea as Russian, or that the advance of ISIS in Africa is supported by the International Criminal Court.

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  • Reported in: Issue 225
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 13/12/2020
  • Outlet language(s) Russian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Ukraine, Russia
  • Keywords: International Criminal Court, Eastern Ukraine, Anti-Russian, Crimea, Donbas, War in Ukraine
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Sanctions are unproductive because Russia is not a part in the Ukrainian conflict

Heads of EU Member States agreed to extend sanctions against Russia. The relations between Moscow and West had deteriorated due to the situation in Ukraine. After the referendum, Crimea became part of the Russian Federation. West accused Russia of interference into affairs of Ukraine and implemented sanctions against Moscow. Russia answered and changed the vector of import. Russian authorities stressed that negotiations with Russia from positions of sanctions are unproductive. Russia many times affirmed that it does not participate in the Ukrainian conflict and is not a side in Minsk peace agreements.

Dec 11, 2020
Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation about the war in Ukraine, illegal annexation of Crimea and Western sanctions against Russia.

Crimea is a part of Ukraine, however, it was illegally annexed by Russia. The so-called referendum of March 16, 2014, was illegitimate under international law. No international body recognises it. Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted that the plan to annex Crimea was ordered weeks before the so-called referendum.

NATO has a policy of discrediting “SPUTNIK-V”

Discrediting the Russian vaccine “Sputnik V” aims to make it difficult for it to enter the international market… These subversive efforts come from a military background, and therefore this is a comprehensive policy to confront and contain Russia by NATO countries, especially the United States.

Dec 11, 2020
Disproof

A recurring disinformation narrative about alleged anti-Russian bias in the West and plots against Russia’s achievements.

Contrary to the baseless claim, reservations and criticism of the Sputnik V vaccine is not caused by the NATO or the US refusal to accept Russia’s accomplishment but by the fact that Russia hasn’t completed large trials to test the vaccine’s safety and efficacy, and rolling out an inadequately vetted vaccine could endanger people who receive it, in the time when WHO insists that a vaccine must undergo thorough testing.

Russian investigators are kept away from the Navalny case

Russia cannot start a criminal procedure in the case of Alexey Navalny because there is a lack of evidence. Russian judges have asked their [German] colleagues to be allowed to participate in the investigation but no one has answered to their requests.

Dec 11, 2020
Disproof

Recurring disinformation narrative concerning the poisoning of a prominent Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny.

As it is well known by now, Navalny fell ill during a flight from Siberia to Moscow on the 20th of August. He was initially hospitalised in Omsk, but shortly afterwards, at the request of his family, he was transferred to Charité hospital in Berlin, where clinical findings indicated that he was poisoned with a substance from the group of cholinesterase inhibitors. Subsequent toxicological tests provided unequivocal evidence of a chemical nerve agent of the Novichok group in the blood samples of Navalny.