Three-quarters of Ukrainians expect war crimes trials to start soon in Ukraine – opinion poll
KYIV. Feb 15 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukrainians, first of all, seek to establish justice as soon as possible – according to the majority (75%), war crimes trials in Ukraine should be started as soon as possible, 23% of respondents believe that this should be done after the end of the war, according to the results of the survey "Legal Protection of Victims of Russia's War Crimes," conducted by the Rating sociological group on December 23-26.
Also, 75% of respondents believe that the priority in war crimes justice should be the fair punishment of war criminals, and only 21% named compensation to the victims.
At the same time, the respondents primarily prefer legitimate forms of justice – through the system of investigation and consideration of cases in courts. 55% oppose lynching, 40% consider it justified. Respondents from the judiciary and veterans communities demonstrated a high level of expectations regarding the consideration of war crimes according to the standards of justice.
About a third of the respondents are ready to personally participate in litigation to claim for lost property/health in the courts of Ukraine, international or special courts with the participation of national and foreign judges.
The most effective mechanism for trial for war crimes of Russia is considered to be special courts with the participation of national and foreign courts (65%). 22% believe that in this case, international institutions will be effective, 7% named the courts of Ukraine. The absolute majority (96%) support the idea of involving international legal organizations to record Russia's war crimes during the war.
The law enforcement system of Ukraine in the investigation of war crimes of the Russian Federation is considered effective by 65% of respondents, 20% had the opposite opinion. Those who adhere to this position named corruption (59%), distrust of citizens in law enforcement officers (29%), their lack of professionalism (24%) and lengthy investigation of cases (21%) as the main reasons for inefficiency.
The effectiveness of the judicial system of Ukraine in the investigation of war crimes was assessed in the same way: 60% consider it effective, less than 20% ineffective. Among the main reasons for the inefficiency of the judiciary, those who say so, they named corruption (65%), citizens' distrust of the courts (36%), lengthy consideration of cases (21%) and unprofessional judges (15%).
About 15% of respondents are aware of the initiative to create a special international tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine. Almost 60% have heard something about it. A quarter does not know anything about it. Some 96% believe that this tribunal should also consider other war crimes – crimes against humanity, and genocide. According to 95% of respondents, both Ukrainian and foreign experts should conduct investigations into the case of the crime of aggression against Ukraine.
The vast majority of respondents consider the political authorities of the Russian Federation guilty of committing war crimes against Ukraine (98%), 96% consider Russian servicemen guilty, 87% believe citizens of the Russian Federation, and only 10% believe that they are not guilty. At the same time, less than half of the respondents believe that the Russian Federation will compensate for economic and infrastructural losses; about the same number do not believe it. Less than 40% believe in compensation for moral harm, life and health of citizens of Ukraine from the Russian Federation, about 60% do not believe it.
According to the majority, the Russian Federation must compensate for the economic and infrastructural losses of Ukraine (94%), as well as moral damage, life and health of Ukrainian citizens (92%). 11% and 14% respectively speak of compensation from international organizations, Europe – 6% and 5% respectively, the United States – 2% each, Ukraine – 2% and 5% respectively.
A total of 2,000 respondents aged over 18 years were interviewed in all controlled areas using the CATI method based on a random sample of mobile phone numbers. The results were weighted to reflect age, gender and type of settlement to ensure a representative sample. The representativeness error with a confidence probability of 0.95% does not exceed 2.2%.
The project is implemented by the NGO Ukrainian Legal Advisory Group within the framework of the Emergency EU Support to Civil Society project, implemented by the Initiative Center to Support Social Action (ISAR) Ednannia with the financial support of the European Union.