Russian Soldier Put On Trial For War Crimes In-Absentia in Ukraine

4-10-2022

Ryan Haigh

International Justice and Human Rights Researcher

Global Human Rights Defence

On 26 September 2022, Russian Lieutenant Serhiy Steiner was sentenced to nine years in prison while absent from court proceedings. [1] In March 2022, Steiner participated in a Russian offensive through which troops under his command occupied the town of Lukyanivka for 21 days. During that period, Steiner ordered soldiers to rob civilians in the area. Based upon Steiner’s orders, soldiers broke into homes and stole any food and resources they could acquire, often demanding resources from victims at gunpoint.  [2] Steiner was tried for violations of the laws and customs of war pursuant to these actions. [3]

The circumstances establishing Steiner’s presence are unique. His unit was eventually repelled by Ukrainian troops. Steiner fled, leaving documents in his armoured vehicle which were later used to establish his presence. [4] The documents were recovered by Ukrainian forces. Investigative journalists were permitted to take pictures of the recovered documents. [5] Based on those documents, journalists identified Steiner and obtained pictures of him through his social media accounts. [6] By reviewing the pictures, local victims were able to identify Steiner as one of the perpetrators. [7] Geolocation data established via Steiner’s cell phone records were also used to confirm his presence in the region during the period in question. [8]

The Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine states that the presence of the defendant at trial is necessarily required and that the defendant's absence may only be tolerated under exceptional circumstances. [9] One of the recognized exceptions under Ukrainian law is when the defendant stays outside the limits of Ukraine and evades appearing in court. [10] After an international warrant proved unsuccessful in securing Steiner’s appearance, the court issued numerous summonses for Steiner to appear in court. [11] After several failures to appear, the judge approved the State’s request to proceed in absentia, finding that Steiner was evading justice. [12] 

Whether this satisfies Ukraine’s national and international obligations is an open question. Ukrainian law requires that a summons be sent to the last known address of a suspect, and that notice is to be published in nationwide mass media and official websites.  It also requires that a hearing be held through which the court must find that the accused must have been aware of the proceedings against him. [ 13 ] It appears neither of these steps were taken in Steiner’s case.  Additionally, under the European Convention of Human Rights, to which Ukraine is a signatory, a suspect convicted in absentia is entitled to a retrial once his presence is secured if it is established that he was not notified of the proceedings against him. [14] While such a provision does not appear in the Ukrainian Criminal Procedure Code, Steiner would arguably be entitled to exercise this right. Even if Steiner is subsequently found in another State, that State would not be under an obligation to extradite Steiner back to Ukraine without providing him with a right to retrial should he have been ignorant of the proceedings against him. [15] Matters of trials in absentia will become more and more important as Ukraine continues to seek justice for the crimes committed by Russian soldiers. Only time will tell how these issues will be resolved. 

[1] Iryna Domaschenko, ‘Ukraine: First Verdict in Absentia for Russian War Crimes’ (JusticeInfo.net, 29 September 2022) <https://www.justiceinfo.net/en/107182-ukraine-first-verdict-in-absentia-russian-war-crimes.html> accessed 4 October 2022 (JusticeInfo.net)

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid. 

[6] Ibid.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Ibid. 

[9] Criminal Procedure Code or 2015 (Ukraine) art 323.

[10] Ibid.

[11] JusticeInfo.net (n 1)

[12] Ibid. 

[13] Criminal Procedure Code or 2015 (Ukraine) art 323

[14] Sejdovic v Italy (2004) 42 EHRR 360. 

[15] Ibid.