How fair was the trial of a Russian soldier in Ukraine? †

A Russian soldier who shot and killed a Ukrainian civilian was yesterday sentenced to life in prison after a short trial in a Ukrainian court. Although 21-year-old Vadim Shishimarin pleaded guilty and regretted it, the court did not take this into account in its decision. Did Shishimarin get a fair trial?

“It is an exaggeration to give life to a soldier who has shot a civilian with his bicycle on his behalf,” said Geert Jan Knoops, professor of international criminal law at the UvA and lawyer at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. “In most European countries you don’t get a life sentence for just one murder.”

According to Knoops, war crimes should certainly be prosecuted, but Knoops questions whether the judge has taken sufficient account of the circumstances. For example, the attacker was still young and held a lower position in the military rank. According to him, the great speed with which the process is progressing does not necessarily indicate a disorder in the process. The soldier had already pleaded guilty and less evidence is needed.

The soldier expressed his regret for his action as follows:

According to Knoops, it is questionable whether it makes sense to let the case take place in Ukraine. “For external impartiality and independence,” he thinks it is good to establish a court where such proceedings can be conducted. It can be a fully independent international court or a mixed court that also includes Ukrainian judges, as in Cambodia and Sierra Leone.

Knoops knows that many more lawsuits will follow. “There are already more than 11,000 similar cases in Ukraine. It is difficult to see all these cases before a Ukrainian court. And neither does the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Only leaders end up there – low.”

Human rights groups Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International have not followed Shishimarin’s case closely and can therefore only respond based on what they see in the media. Based on this, HRW attorney Aisling Reidy in New York says the process is fair.

She notes, however, that extenuating circumstances, such as the applicant’s age and seniority, were normally taken into account in decisions where she acted on behalf of the widow and expressed remorse towards her. “According to the decision, the second happened here as well. However, the judge says that the suspect partially admitted to the crime and tried to hide the circumstances of the crime. Therefore, his repentance is not accepted.”

Reidy believes that Shisjimarin has been sentenced to life imprisonment, which is the harshest compared to international courts. “For example, at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, war criminals who killed significantly more people were given lighter sentences, often ranging from five to ten years.”

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This is a war crime and you are covered by the Geneva Conventions.

Ruud Bosgraaf of Amnesty International was not surprised by the amount of the sentence. “You can’t talk about a single murder here. This is a war crime and you are subject to the Geneva Conventions. Because this is during a war, you can sometimes be punished more severely.” According to him, it is primarily a matter of knowing whether the sentence is proportionate and “it is up to the judge to determine whether it is 20 years or a life sentence”.

Nor does he find it strange that Shsijimarin is being tried in Ukraine. “First, the criminal suspect is on trial in his own country. The real question is whether you can get a fair trial. But it comes into play if you can’t find other ways. The game.”

Broader interests can also play a role in this case, which goes beyond the individual case of Shishimarin, according to HRW lawyer Reidy. “As an individual soldier, he should not be held responsible for war crimes committed by the Russian state.” He cannot say for sure whether this actually happened. “I hope there will be more clarity during the meeting.”