Thursday, July 28, 2016
Russia expert Jukka Mallinen and three members of the board of the Finnish Anti-Fascist Committee reported the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, to police for his actions during the wars against Chechnya, Georgia, Ukraine, and Syria.
Under international law and Article 11 of the Finnish Criminal Code, the Finnish justice system can extend its jurisdiction to crimes committed outside Finland's borders.
Vladimir Putin arrived on an official visit to Finland 1 July 2016. The group of civic activists urged police to arrest Putin for suspicion of committing the crimes mentioned in their report.
Request for an investigation
Russia's President, Vladimir Putin, will arrive in Finland on Friday, 1 July 2016. We ask the police to arrest Putin and to begin a pretrial investigation into his involvement in war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and preparation of genocide, crime of aggression and preparation of crime of aggression, aggravated sabotage, and intentional killing of civilians.
Under the universality principle of criminal law, Finland's justice system may extend its jurisdiction to crimes committed abroad in cases when the punishment for the crimes, regardless of where they were committed, is based on an international agreement or other such statutes that are internationally binding on Finland.
The crimes cited above are such that a person can be tried for them in Finland even if they were committed outside our national borders. We ask the police to investigate the crimes committed by the Russian government, led by Vladimir Putin, during the Second Chechen War, the war of aggression against Georgia, the illegal occupation of Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea, and the war in Syria.
In Chechnya, Putin is responsible for a war of destruction, during which heavy military equipment has been used intentionally to kill civilians. In Georgia, Russian troops under Putin's command are occupying large parts of the territory of a sovereign nation. In Ukraine, Putin has given orders to grab and annex the Crimean Peninsula. In Syria, Putin is responsible for continued aerial bombings of the civilian population.
International agreements on diplomatic immunity can provide no protection from legal responsibility for those responsible for crimes of this magnitude. We therefore urge the Finnish police to take immediate measures and follow up on our report.
Respectfully,
Jukka Mallinenauthor
Antti-Pekka MustonenChairman
Kerkko PaananenDeputy Chairman
Mikael StorsjöSecretary
