Former prosecutor Benjamin Ferencz, who worked at the Nuremberg Trials (the trial of Hitler's German leaders), stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin could be convicted of crimes against humanity committed by the Russian military in Ukraine, according to multiple reports.
A "disgrace to human society"
Ferencz, a New Yorker from a family of Jewish immigrants, was tasked with setting up a Nazi war crimes branch in 1944, which meant seeing horrific sights at concentration camps firsthand.
"The crimes that Russia is currently committing against Ukraine are a disgrace to human society, and those responsible must be held accountable for aggression, crimes against humanity, and murder." Ferencz told The Mirror.
According to Ferencz, Putin may be imprisoned in the same way as Radovan Karadzic, a Bosnian Serb leader, who was accused of genocide.
"This is very realistic (imprisonment of the President of the Russian Federation - UE). All you need is the determination to do it because they (Russians) do not live on the moon. I want to see Putin behind bars, it is possible," Ferencz added.
According to him, the West hoped that the looming threat of prosecution similar to the Nuremberg Trials would stop Putin from further aggression, but this did not happen.
Ferencz added that he and those around him no longer have any doubts about Putin's crimes against Ukraine, as much of the evidence suggests that the Russian military is targeting civilians and using cluster bombs.
Ferencz is resilient. He believes the war crimes investigation may deter Russia as they’ll know “the international community intends to hold them accountable,” he told the Mirror. He also insists it is possible to restore order, although it will be “slow and difficult”.
And he is still certain war is not intrinsic to human nature.
“The lesson can be learned,” he insisted. “I can’t believe this is inevitable, it’s not inevitable.”