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5. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The attack on the Donetsk Regional Academic Drama Theatre in Mariupol was a tragedy. It was also tragically emblematic of the plight of civilians living in Mariupol during the current conflict. Despite civilians’ efforts to escape the conflict by sheltering at the theatre, the war came to them, and many civilians were killed and horribly injured.
Why these civilians were attacked is not known, but it is clear the attack lacked military necessity. The easily identifiable civilian activity at the Donetsk Regional Academic Drama Theatre, combined with the absence of any significant military presence, suggests that Russian forces most likely intentionally targeted the theatre knowing it was a civilian object, which is a war crime. The evidence also demonstrates that under any reasonable interpretation of the other three less likely scenarios – that the theatre was targeted believing it was a valid military objective, it was struck mistakenly during an attack on a different target, or it was struck as part of an indiscriminate attack – the attack would still amount to a war crime.
Any investigators examining the incident, including those with the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC should carefully consider the most likely explanation for the incident, as well as the other plausible explanations, and investigate accordingly. The survivors of the attack, the families of the victims, and the population of Mariupol deserve this, at the very least.
RECOMMENDATIONS
TO THE GOVERNMENT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
• End all direct attacks on civilians, indiscriminate attacks, and other serious violations of international humanitarian law. • Fully comply with the rules of international humanitarian law in the planning and execution of all attacks, including by reviewing the criteria for selecting targets, to ensure they do not lead to targeting of civilians and by taking all feasible precautions in planning and execution of attacks,
including cancelling strikes when there is doubt that the target is a military objective or when strikes are likely to be disproportionate or indiscriminate. • Conduct an independent, impartial, thorough, and transparent investigation into the attack on the
Donetsk Regional Academic Drama Theatre. • Where there is sufficient admissible evidence of crimes, bring suspected perpetrators to justice in fair trials without recourse to the death penalty. • Co-operate with international investigations into the attack on the drama theatre, including by allowing independent investigators such as criminal investigators, human rights researchers, and journalists unfettered access to the site of the attack. • Acknowledge civilian casualties caused by the attack on the theatre and offer compensation and explanation to survivors and families of civilians killed. • Provide victims of the attack on the theatre, and their families, with access to justice and to full reparation, including restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction, and guarantees of non-repetition.
TO THE GOVERNMENT OF UKRAINE AND THE UKRAINIAN PROSECUTOR GENERAL’S OFFICE
• Conduct an independent, impartial, thorough, and transparent investigation into the attack on the
Donetsk Regional Academic Drama Theatre. • Where there is sufficient admissible evidence of crimes, bring suspected perpetrators to justice in fair trials without recourse to the death penalty.
TO THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT
• Investigate the attack on the Donetsk Regional Academic Drama Theatre.
TO OTHER GOVERNMENTS
• Under the principle of universal jurisdiction, investigate and prosecute people responsible for the attack on the Donetsk Regional Academic Drama Theatre.
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“CHILDREN”
Serhii Zabohonskyi, an actor who used to perform at the theatre and a survivor of the attack, stands outside the rear of the theatre moments after the explosion. © Serhii Zabohonskyi
On 16 March 2022, shortly after 10am, a Russian air strike destroyed the Donetsk Regional Academic Drama Theatre in Mariupol, Ukraine. At the time of the attack, hundreds of civilians were in and around the theatre; many were killed. The theatre was clearly recognizable as a civilian object, perhaps more so than any other location in the city. The evidence Amnesty International has gathered demonstrates that the attack was a war crime.
Between 16 March and 21 June Amnesty International collected and analysed a range of evidence related to the attack on the theatre, including 53 first-hand testimonies from survivors and witnesses of the attack and its aftermath, 28 of whom were inside or adjacent to the theatre at the time of the attack.
The seriousness of the violation and the human suffering it caused highlight the need to conduct further urgent and transparent investigations to determine the full extent of the casualties and to hold perpetrators criminally accountable for the loss of civilian life and serious injury and for the damage to civilian infrastructure.
