Dutch government wrestling with risks involved in hosting Russia war crime tribunal

The Netherlands is eager to host a special tribunal to prosecute Russian war crimes and aggression against Ukraine. But the government is still grappling with the security risks and capacity consequences this entails, caretaker Minister Caspar Veldkamp of Foreign Affairs wrote to parliament. The caretaker Cabinet is particularly worried about serious Russian cyberattacks and the already limited prison capacity, the Telegraaf reports.

The government has mapped out the risks with the relevant Ministries, Veldkamp wrote. “This reveals that the tribunal entails many risks with far-reaching consequences for, among other things, the detention system and the surveillance and security system, Veldkamp wrote. “Housing this tribunal will place substantially more demands on the Netherlands than other international courts and tribunals located in the Nehterlands.”

The Dutch prison system is already over capacity to the point that it is impossible to get all Dutch convicts behind bars. The caretaker government has decided to start releasing prisoners two weeks before their sentence is up, to make room for new inmates.

In the coming months, the government will map out the possibilities of combining prosecution, housing, and detention at a separate location. “Given the demands placed on the detention facility in particular, a long lead time must be anticipated for the realization of such a facility,” Veldkamp said. The government is also mapping out the financial consequences “for both the Netherlands as the host country and for the supporting countries.”

A temporary tribunal to prosecute Russian aggression against Ukraine was established on June 25 because the International Criminal Court has no jurisdiction over Russia. 36 countries are participating in the tribunal. It is doubtful that Russia will care about potential prosecution by the tribunal, but Veldkamp still considers it an important signal. “The establishment of this tribunal is a historic event: it is the first time since the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials that a country’s political and military leadership will be held accountable for violating the ban on the use of force.”