There’s been discussions about #time and #accountability lately, and I’ve gotten questions about it. “When could trials begin?” “Could #Putin be prosecuted? When? Where” I’ll leave the “where” aside now but here’s a short 🧵on time. #Russia #Ukraine #Justice
There is, naturally, a sense of urgency when we see injustice and victims like those in #Bucha, #Mariupol, etc. People want justice and they want it now. But time can be a friend of justice, not always an enemy, especially in leadership cases. Let me tell you how.
In one article, I talk about #RadovanKaradzic and #RatkoMladic - high-ranking officials charged with crimes in Bosnia, e.g. the siege of #Sarajevo and the genocide in #Srebrenica. They were fugitives for years and most of us did not expect them to be arrested. We almost gave up.
While they were on the run, the court in #TheHague (#ICTY) was busy prosecuting lower-level accused for the same crimes. Investigators, prosecutors and analysts learned their jobs well. Judges got better. Defense too. Thousands of hours of work went into it.
Mass graves were located, bodies were found and identified, documents seized, evidence was collected and analyzed, insider witnesses found and legal theories developed. Dozens and dozens of cases.
When the two were finally arrested, 15 years after the crimes were committed, the prosecutors were ready. The evidence was there, the legal case was clear – the prosecutors had been practicing for years by then. The two were convicted and are serving lifelong sentences.
The lesson here, for Ukranians and advocates for justice, is not to give up. There is an unprecedented documentation effort and cooperation on justice going on. Keep going. We thought Karadzic and Mladic would never be arrested, and then they were. This is a long game. /end
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