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Times
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Times
Russia tried to bury these war crimes — this play dares to expose them
The murderous Macbeth gets his comeuppance in the end. Medea kills her own children — tragic for them, catharsis for us. But can a play help to hold real evil accountable? Take Russia's war crimes against Ukraine. This year the US administration abolished the Russian war crimes investigations unit at the State Department, a serious blow to the pursuit of justice. If there's one reason to value Anastasiia Kosodii and Josephine Burton's new documentary play, The Reckoning, based on war crimes testimonies in Ukraine, it's as a particularly moving way to keep Russia's crimes in the public mind. But this play is so much more than that. Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine I have been working with a team of journalists and lawyers to catalogue, publicise and build legal cases of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine. Our aim is to combine the power of law and media to achieve justice much quicker than usually happens in wars. When you think about Nuremberg, the justice process for the Yugoslav wars or Rwanda, the accountability came long after the war finished. We want to start now. We call ourselves the Reckoning Project, and we have provided Kosodii and Burton with the materials for their play, which is running at the Arcola Theatre in Dalston, east London. The first phase of our work is built on the careful, often agonisingly detailed collection of witness testimonies by a specially trained team of Ukrainian reporters on the ground. We have collected more than 600 testimonies so far, cataloguing torture; sexual crimes; the bombardment of hospitals, schools and apartment blocks; deportations; the mass abduction of children; enforced disappearances; enforced indoctrination; and extrajudicial executions. This collection already marks a sea change. War testimonies are usually collected well after the crimes have been committed, and it is so difficult to reconstruct the truth years later. Janine di Giovanni, the Reckoning's chief executive, is a former war reporter for The Times and an international justice expert who has covered three genocides, starting from the wars in Yugoslavia, and frequently found that though she had been first on the scene of crimes, the way she recorded and preserved evidence made it inadmissible in court. Our first aim at the Reckoning Project is to make sure that journalists who come to a crime scene collect evidence that will be admissible, and will thus hasten justice. After the testimonies have been collected, they are analysed by lawyers and archivists in Berlin and London. They map the gruesome patterns, the repeat violations that show what we are witnessing are not one-off incidents but part of a larger Russian strategy. The lawyers build cases in courts of law, provide evidence to the Hague, create submissions to the United Nations and other international treaty bodies. Our journalists, meanwhile, create stories based on the archive. By putting journalists and lawyers together we expand the scope of justice to include both courts of law and the court of public opinion. We want to make the vague words about 'truth and justice' holding the powerful accountable tangible and impactful. When we first shared testimonies with Kosodii and Burton, I wondered how they would bring them to life. The testimonies are very detailed, but they show little emotion. The central testimony the play focuses on is about a janitor at a country house in the Kyiv region, near Bucha, who was looking after an estate when the Russian occupiers arrived. In the 70-odd pages of testimony the facts drip out slowly, each detail more harrowing than the last. The occupiers took over the house the janitor was looking after, then used it as a shooting range to murder civilians fleeing the advancing Russian forces by car. A whole column of cars was shot up. The janitor was tied up, then released, and left alone wandering the cemetery of bullet-shredded cars and corpses. • How can drama portray Russia? As the dramatists explained to me, the emotion in the testimony is less in any explicit language the janitor uses than in the way he speaks with the Reckoning reporter taking the testimony. Their conversation lasted on and off for many months. The janitor first didn't fully trust the reporter, then slowly opened up. The pivotal moment came when he told her about how he had tried to save a man hiding from the remaining Russian soldiers in another house. The man had refused his help, was caught and killed. The sense of guilt for not doing more to help the victim was weighing the janitor down. When he could finally talk it through, he opened up. At the same time the reporter has a reckoning of her own, for the first time coming to terms with her feelings of remorse for how she struggled to get her mother out of an occupied town when she was somewhere safe. So this is a story, and a drama, about how human connection, trust and empathy are essential for the truth to emerge. Part of the aim of Putin's invasion is to make the people of Ukraine so terrified that they will be too scared and ashamed to tell the horrifying truth of what they have been part of. What is striking in The Reckoning is how both the janitor and the reporter blame themselves for not moving faster to save other victims, as if their suffering is somehow the janitor's or the reporter's fault. Battling the sense of misplaced shame and repressed memory is all too common in other contexts — not least the Holocaust, which so many survivors were unwilling to talk about. And it has taken nearly a century for Ukraine to find a public expression — in the form of books, musicals, monuments and exhibits — for the many millions murdered by the Stalin regime to suppress Ukrainian independence. And in that sense this play is part of a greater journey to justice, where the traumas of the war are processed so that society can come to terms with, or at least to common grief for, what has been done to them — and name the guilty. The Reckoning is at the Arcola Theatre, London, to Jun 28,
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
‘What is it if not a war crime?' Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert blasts war in Gaza
Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert has blasted the country's political leadership and the conduct of its military, telling CNN he is no longer able to defend Israel against accusations of war crimes. Olmert, who led the country from 2006-2009, pointed to Israel's 11-week blockade of humanitarian aid into Gaza and the soaring number of Palestinians killed. 'What is it if not a war crime?' he asked rhetorically in an interview with CNN. He said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and far-right members of his government are 'committing actions which can't be interpreted any other way.' Since the start of the war, Olmert has defended Israel abroad against accusations of genocide and ethnic cleansing in Gaza. When women and children were killed, Olmert said he told officials and interviewers that Israel would not deliberately target civilians. But 19 months into a war Olmert says should have ended a year ago, he believes he can no longer make that case. CNN spoke to Olmert following the publication of an op-ed by the former prime minister that was published in Israel's Haaretz newspaper on Tuesday, in which he wrote: 'What we are doing in Gaza now is a war of devastation: indiscriminate, limitless, cruel and criminal killing of civilians.' CNN has asked the Prime Minister's Office for comment on Olmert's op-ed. More than 54,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, including at least 28,000 women and children. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in January that it had killed more than 20,000 Hamas fighters. 'I think that we have to make sure that no uninvolved people in Gaza are hurt because of the expansion of these military operations, which is entirely unjustified and doesn't serve any important interests of the state of Israel at this point,' Olmert said. Olmert, who spent 16 months in prison on corruption charges, leveled most of his criticism at Netanyahu, as well as far-right ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich. 'I hope that this government will disappear as soon as possible,' he told CNN. 'I believe that the majority of Israelis are sick and tired of these policies, of these statements, of what the terrible damage that was caused by this government to the moral integrity of the state of Israel and the people of Israel.' Polls in Israel have repeatedly shown that most of the country supports a comprehensive ceasefire agreement that would see the release of the remaining 58 hostages held in Gaza and an end to the war. But Netanyahu has refused to commit to an end to the war, insisting that Israel's expanding military campaign in Gaza will continue until the defeat of Hamas. Like the hostage families, many of whom have given up on Netanyahu, Olmert placed his hope in US President Donald Trump to end the war. Trump, he said, is one of the only people who has the ability to compel Netanyahu to end the war. 'I really certainly think that he is the only person perhaps that can force the Israeli prime minister to come to terms with reality and with the moral reality of what is being accomplished by this government,' he told CNN.
Free Malaysia Today
a day ago
- General
- Free Malaysia Today
Sweden charges extremist over Jordanian pilot burned to death
Osama Krayem is already serving a 30-year sentence for involvement in the November 2015 terror attacks in Paris. (AFP pic) STOCKHOLM : Prosecutors have charged a Swedish extremist over the 2014 killing of a Jordanian pilot, who was burned to death in a cage in Syria after being captured by the Islamic State (IS) group. Osama Krayem, 32, was charged with 'participating in the brutal execution of a pilot' near the city of Raqqa, prosecutor Reena Devgun told a press conference. Krayem, who is already serving a 30-year sentence for involvement in the November 2015 terror attacks in Paris, was charged with 'serious war crimes and terrorist crimes'. According to prosecutors, who had announced they intended to charge Krayem last week, an aircraft belonging to the Royal Jordanian Air Force crashed in Syria on Dec 24, 2014. The pilot was captured by IS fighters the same day near the central city of Raqqa, and killed sometime before Feb 3, 2015. The execution was filmed and a 22-minute video accompanied by a specially composed religious chant was published. In the video, the victim is seen walking past several masked IS fighters, including Krayem, according to prosecutors. The pilot is then locked in a cage that is set on fire, leading to his death, Henrik Olin, the other prosecutor in charge of the case, told reporters. 'This bestial murder, in which a prisoner was burned alive in a cage, was staged in a carefully produced video that was broadcast around the world. Its publication marked an unprecedented escalation in the Islamic State group's violent propaganda,' Olin said. Prosecutors have been unable to determine the exact day of the murder, but the investigation has identified the location where it took place. 'Obligation' to prosecute The defendant's lawyer, Petra Eklund, told AFP that her client admitted to being present at the scene but disputed the prosecution's version. 'He denies the acts for which he is prosecuted,' she said. 'He acknowledges having been present at that place during the event but claims not to have acted in the manner described by the prosecutors in the account of the facts.' Krayem, who is from Malmo in southern Sweden, joined the IS group in Syria in 2014 before returning to Europe. In June 2022, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison in France for helping plan the November 2015 Paris attacks in which 130 people were killed. The following year, he was given a life sentence in Belgium for participating in the bombings on March 22, 2016, at Brussels' main airport and on the metro system, which killed 32 people. 'Even though this is a person that's already sentenced and is serving very long prison sentences in other countries, we will still charge him and we have an international obligation to do so,' Devgun told AFP. Krayem has been 'temporarily handed over to Sweden to participate in the trial', which is scheduled to begin on June 4, according to the Swedish prosecution authority. 'It is painful for my parents to be confronted with this event again, but we are grateful that the Swedish authorities want to give us justice,' Jawdat al-Kasasbeh, the pilot's brother, told broadcaster Sveriges Radio.
The National
2 days ago
- General
- The National
Verdict expected in Paris trial of former Syrian rebel spokesman
A verdict is expected to be issued on Wednesday in the month-long trial of a former spokesman of Syrian rebel group Jaish Al Islam. In his last statement to the jury before it withdrew to deliberate, Majdi Nema, 36, reiterated his innocence but did not address the charges that have been issued against him. He is accused of complicity in the group's war crimes and risks 20 years in prison. Mr Nema, who has spent five years in pretrial detention in France after his arrest in the southern city of Marseille, said he wants to return to his studies. 'I want to return to Syria and work on punishing all those responsible of crimes, whatever their allegiance,' he said, in a reference to Syria's new rulers which have integrated rebel groups like Jaish Al Islam into the Defence Ministry. The recent change in Syrian leadership and the fall of the Assad regime in December after more than five decades at the helm of the country dominated the trial. The prosecution requested that the jury drop charges of complicity in the war crime of enrolment and conscription of minors, which may reduce the sentence by half in the case of conviction. Syrians who testified at the trial said they felt divided over the fate of Mr Nema, who left Jaish Al Islam in 2016. Speaking anonymously out of fear for their safety, one said that he had 'paid enough' by spending five years in pretrial detention and that he cared little if he was released now. Anas Al Kholi, a civil party in the case who was imprisoned by Jaish Al Islam, said that he hoped he would get the maximum sentence because of his prominent role in the group which likely involved information about its crimes. Mr Nema was initially arrested for charges involving the disappearance of four prominent human rights activists who were likely kidnapped by Jaish Al Islam in a Damascus suburb in 2013. Those charges were dropped in 2023, largely for procedural reasons. Syrian activists had hoped that Mr Nema would give information about their fate at the trial, which did not happen. Jaish Al Islam has always rejected accusations of involvement in their disappearance. Relatives, some of whom believe they were killed in captivity, say they have proof that senior officials ordered the kidnapping but that the leadership was informed after it happened.
Arab News
2 days ago
- General
- Arab News
Sweden charges militant over Jordanian pilot burnt to death in Syria
STOCKHOLM: Prosecutors on Tuesday charged a Swedish militant over the 2014 capture and subsequent killing of a Jordanian pilot, who was burned to death in a cage in Syria by the Islamic State (IS) group. Osama Krayem, 32, was charged with "participating in the brutal execution of a pilot" near the city of Raqqa, prosecutor Reena Devgun told a press conference. Krayem, who is already serving a 30-year sentence for involvement in the November 2015 terror attacks in Paris, was charged with "serious war crimes and terrorist crimes". According to prosecutors, who had announced they intended to charge Krayem last week, an aircraft belonging to the Royal Jordanian Air Force crashed in Syria on December 24, 2014. The pilot was captured by IS fighters the same day near the central city of Raqqa, and killed sometime before February 3, 2015. The execution was filmed and a 22-minute video accompanied by a specially composed religious chant was published. In the video, the victim is seen walking past several masked IS fighters, including Krayem, according to prosecutors. The pilot is then locked in a cage that is set on fire, leading to his death, Henrik Olin, the other prosecutor in charge of the case, told reporters. "This bestial murder, in which a prisoner was burned alive in a cage, was staged in a carefully produced video that was broadcast around the world. Its publication marked an unprecedented escalation in the Islamic State group's violent propaganda," Olin said. Prosecutors have been unable to determine the exact day of the murder, but the investigation has identified the location where it took place. The defendant's lawyer, Petra Eklund, told AFP that her client admitted to being present at the scene but disputed the prosecution's version. "He denies the acts for which he is prosecuted," she said. "He acknowledges having been present at that place during the event but claims not to have acted in the manner described by the prosecutors in the account of the facts." Krayem, who is from Malmo in southern Sweden, joined the IS group in Syria in 2014 before returning to Europe. In June 2022, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison in France for helping plan the November 2015 Paris attacks in which 130 people were killed. The following year, he was given a life sentence in Belgium for participating in the bombings on March 22, 2016, at Brussels' main airport and on the metro system, which killed 32 people. "Even though this is a person that's already sentenced and is serving very long prison sentences in other countries, we will still charge him and we have an international obligation to do so," Devgun told AFP. Krayem has been "temporarily handed over to Sweden to participate in the trial", which is scheduled to begin June 4, according to the Swedish Prosecution Authority. "It is painful for my parents to be confronted with this event again, but we are grateful that the Swedish authorities want to give us justice," Jawdat al-Kasasbeh, the pilot's brother, told broadcaster Sveriges Radio.
