Voislav Torden is the former commander of the Rusich military group accused of atrocities in Ukraine. Torden is accused of a gross war crime and four war crimes in eastern Ukraine.
Marjatta Rautio,
Tuomas Hyytinen
13:08•Updated 13:10
Founder and former commander of the Rusiš military group Voislav Torden faces heavy charges for suspected war crimes in eastern Ukraine.
Deputy Crown Prosecutor Jukka Rappe has brought charges against Torden for an aggravated war crime and four counts of war crimes.
The crimes are suspected to have taken place in the fall of 2014.
This is the first time that Finland has been prosecuted for war crimes suspected of having been committed in Ukraine.
Charge: The suspect participated in the killing of 22 Ukrainian soldiers
The charges are related to the suspect’s activities in a unit called Rusitsh, which has fought on the side of the Russian-backed Luhansk separatist region against Ukraine.
The suspect is accused of having participated, as the unit’s deputy commander, in acts that violate the rules of war, in which he and the unit’s soldiers have killed a total of 22 Ukrainian soldiers and seriously wounded four. In addition, the suspect is accused of acts contrary to the rules of the law of war, which concern the manner of warfare and the treatment of wounded and killed enemy soldiers.
According to the law, a serious war crime is sentenced to at least eight years in prison. It is also possible to be sentenced to life imprisonment if the act is considered extremely reprehensible.
Rappe told Uutis already after the completion of the preliminary investigation that the Central Criminal Police got an amazingly good picture of the events in Eastern Ukraine and the report is convincing.
Finland did not hand over Torden to Ukraine
Torden was caught in Finland in August last year when the Border Guard identified him. Torden is on the EU sanctions list under its previous name Jan Petrovski and he is banned from entering Finland.
Torden was imprisoned on suspicion of war crimes in December. According to Torden’s assistant, Torden denies criminal suspicions.
Ukraine demanded that Finland hand over Torden. The Supreme Court decided that the extradition request cannot be agreed to.
The reason is the poor conditions of Ukrainian prisons and the assessment that Torden would not receive a fair trial in Ukraine.
The news is updated.