Where and when can Lukashenko be tried?
The international tribunal, which could prosecute for war crimes in Ukraine, could begin its work as early as this summer, said U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland on January 27.
At the same time, on 19 and 26 January, the European Parliament and PACE adopted resolutions calling for the creation of a tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine.
The resolutions of the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe expressly call for the military and political leadership of Lukashenko's regime and the dictator himself to be brought to justice.
On January 27, U.S. Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland said that an international tribunal or its equivalent, under which Russia could be held accountable for war crimes in Ukraine, could begin its work this summer.
According to her, Washington is already working on the issue — together with Ukraine and the G7 countries. Legal mechanisms are being actively developed and evidence is being gathered.
At the same time, on January 19 and 26, the European Parliament and PACE passed resolutions calling for a tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine.
The resolutions of the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe directly point to the need to bring to justice the military and political leadership of the Lukashenko’s regime and the dictator himself.
Let us add more details.
First of all, the PACE resolution says that the statute of the special tribunal "should clearly stipulate that the principle of personal immunity will not apply to state officials", which also applies to Lukashenko, if anyone suddenly thinks he is still president.
PACE is also ready to assist in developing a legal framework and providing the necessary financial and human resources for the creation of the tribunal.
Secondly, the jurisdiction of the planned special tribunal may be limited only
Territorially (i.e., crimes committed in Ukraine will be considered);
In time (i.e., within the framework of an armed conflict in the country);
and by type of crime (aggression and only aggression will be considered as the main factor of the crime).
There are no more restrictions. That is, there are no grounds to exclude persons from the competence of the tribunal, for example, on the basis of nationality. Simply put, the tribunal cannot consider cases only against citizens of Russia.
The fact that Alexander Lukashenko and the top political and military leadership of his regime committed the crime of aggression — in the form of providing the territory of Belarus for the armed aggression of Russia against Ukraine — is undeniable.
Thus, this crime will inevitably become the subject of the proceedings of the said tribunal.
As the investigation progresses, the prosecutor general of the tribunal will issue more and more warrants: for the arrest of Lukashenko, then his henchmen, and then it will come to their subordinates.
One by one, all of these persons will be automatically declared wanted all over the world. Inevitably and without statute of limitations.
The names of Milosevic, Al-Bashir, Mladic — once close friends of Lukashenko — more and more vividly paint a picture of the future of the dictator himself.
Undoubtedly, the resolutions of the European Parliament and PACE are a political act and are not yet binding.
But at the same time, this document is a publicly expressed vote of unconditional trust in experts and international institutions whose authority is to create a special mechanism of international justice for the crimes committed by the Russian and Belarusian regimes.
It is with such landmark acts of political will that all modern special criminal tribunals began: on Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Cambodia, and other countries.
It is from this point that the difficult road to a just justice on behalf of humanity, which will catch up with the perpetrators of tens of thousands of innocent deaths in Ukraine, begins.
As the practice of such stories shows, the ending is always the same: even years of rat race from justice around the world eventually bring criminals to the dock.