The International Criminal Court has been requested to launch an investigation of the Odessa pogrom of May 2, 2014 and to appoint Special Counsel for Victims.
Original Title
International Criminal Court to Investigate Odessa Pogrom
The International Criminal Court has been requested to launch an investigation of the Odessa pogrom of May 2, 2014 and to appoint Special Counsel for Victims.
The International Criminal Court has been requested to launch an investigation of the Odessa pogrom of May 2, 2014 and to appoint Special Counsel for Victims.
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May 4, 2014
Information and Evidence Unit Office of the Prosecutor Post Office Box 19519 2500 CM The Hague The Netherlands
Via otp.informationdesk@icc-cpi.int
Communication/Information Crimes against Humanity - Odessa, Ukraine (Fascist Pogram)
Dear Mrs. Fatou Bensouda: I am writing to you as a concerned member of the International Criminal Bar, the organization which represents attorneys who practice before the International Criminal Court. I have also served as Holocaust restitution attorney for these Ukrainian anti fascist organizations: Organization of Ukrainian Anti Fascist Freedom Fighters, Ukrainian Union of Nazi Victims and Prisoners, and The International Union of Former Juvenile Prisoners of Fascism of Ukraine. Their members are survivors and the families of Nazi era fascist genocide and have an intense fear of the fascist allies of the Ukrainian government including Right Sector which venerate the fascist leader Bandera. The purpose of this letter is to urge you to immediately launch an investigation of the May 2, 2014 Odessa, Ukraine massacre on your own initiative without further delay.
The putative government of Ukraine on April 17, 2014 asked the International Criminal Court Office of the Prosecutor to commence investigation under ICC Article 12(3) of the the alleged crimes stemming from the February 2014 sniper incidents in Kiev that killed almost 100 protestors and police and wounded hundreds more. On March 5, 2014 this office also requested an investigation noting that the origin of the snipers was far from certain and might involve foreign powers or the putative government of Ukraine itself.
On May 2, 2014 raw video footage I have reviewed shows Right Sector fascists conducted a pogrom against the anti fascist resistance in Odessa, Ukraine. The anti fascists were chased into a building that was set aflame by Right Sector while Ukrainian government police stood by and watched without intervening. When victims tried to escape the burning building they were beaten mercilessly and shot at
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by the Right Sector. The corpses of the victims were later looted by right sector for trophies. Survivors of the pogrom were arrested by the Ukrainian police and only released after the public stormed the police station on May 4, 2014.
On May 3, 2014, the Ukrainian Interior Ministry released the following statement:
Preliminary findings from an Interior Ministry investigation suggest that pro-Russian separatists in Odessa accidentally set the trade union building on fire with Molotov cocktails.
According to an Interior Ministry statement, separatists on May 2 broke into the trade union building and barricaded themselves inside. They then from the roof started throwing Molotov cocktails and shooting with firearms at peaceful citizens.
Some of the incendiary devices hit the building causing a fire that eventually killed more than 40 people, said the Interior Ministry statement.
The statement is at odds with eyewitness accounts and videos. The victims did not set themselves on fire and Right Sector was not peaceful Ukrainian citizens but instead armed thugs.
Further, I am of the express opinion that victims of the Odessa massacre and their families are in grave danger of retaliation by both the Ukrainian government and its fascist allies. I am requesting appointment of a Special Counsel for Victims during the investigation stage and volunteer this office which meets the criteria set forth in ICC regulation 81.
Yours respectfully
Dr. Jonathan Levy, PhD International Criminal Bar/ Barreau Pnal Member No. 100465