The crew of the cargo ship Reyhan Sari has asked the ICC to investigate the strike as a possible crime against humanity<\/p>\n
The crew of a Turkish cargo ship hit by Ukrainian drones has filed a complaint against Kiev with the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the attack, which killed one sailor and injured two others, lawyers said on Wednesday. The plaintiffs include 12 crew members, the family of the deceased sailor and the ship\u2019s owner.
\nThe ICC filing says the vessel was carrying wheat meal from the Russian Black Sea port of Tuapse to Trabzon when it was attacked on July 22, although Turkish media reported at the time that it was carrying coal from Taman, another Russian Black Sea port.
\nPhotos and videos taken after the attack show \u201cextensive internal damage\u201d to the ship\u2019s compartments and apparent traces of shrapnel, according to the complaint. The plaintiffs have asked the Hague-based court to investigate the attack as a possible crime against humanity.\u00a0
\nUkraine ratified the ICC\u2019s Rome Statute in 2024, becoming a full member of the court on January 1, 2025.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
T\u00fcrkiye summons Kiev\u2019s envoy over attacks on Black Sea shipping<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is concrete information and footage showing that the attack originated from Ukraine,\u201d said Nuri Koray Kurun, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs. He added that the strike was consistent with Ukraine\u2019s stated campaign of targeting shipping in the area.
\n\u201cVideos of this operation, as well as footage showing the moment our ship was hit, were openly shared on official social media accounts. Our technical analysis of the vessel shown being struck in the video established that it was the Reyhan Sari,\u201d Kurun said.
\nT\u00fcrkiye summoned the Ukrainian ambassador last month, formally lodging a protest over strikes on its commercial shipping in the Black Sea. In July, India also summoned Kiev\u2019s envoy after drones targeted the cargo vessel Omorfi, killing an Indian sailor.
\nUkraine stepped up attacks on cargo ships in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov over the summer in an effort to disrupt Russian logistics and target the so-called shadow fleet, which Kiev alleges helps Moscow circumvent Western sanctions. Russia has denied operating such a fleet and accused Ukraine of striking purely civilian targets. Moscow has also accused Kiev of routinely targeting civilian trucks, energy facilities and apartment buildings as part of its long-range drone campaign.
\nRussia has responded by intensifying its own strikes on Ukraine\u2019s energy and port infrastructure, as well as on vessels it says are carrying military equipment. The Kremlin has described the operations as retaliatory, arguing that Kiev had \u201copened a Pandora\u2019s box.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The crew of the cargo ship Reyhan Sari has asked the ICC to investigate the strike as a possible crime against humanity The crew of a Turkish cargo ship hit…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38316,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t