Prosecuting the Powerful: War Crimes and the Battle for Justice
Produktdetaljer
Biografisk notat
Steve Crawshaw has written and worked on human rights and justice for more than thirty years. He was a journalist at Granada Television before joining the Independent at launch in 1986, where his roles included Russia and East Europe Editor during the east European revolutions and Balkan wars, then Germany bureau chief and chief foreign correspondent. In 2002, he joined Human Rights Watch as UK director and then UN advocacy director in New York. In 2010 he joined Amnesty International as international advocacy director and then Director of the Office of the Secretary General. In 2018 he became policy and advocacy director at Freedom from Torture. His previous books are Goodbye to the USSR (1992), Easier Fatherland: Germany and the Twenty-First Century (2004), Small Acts of Resistance (with John Jackson, foreword by Václav Havel, 2010) and Street Spirit: The Power of Protest and Mischief (foreword by Ai Weiwei, 2017). He studied Russian and German at the universities of Oxford and St Petersburg, and lived in Poland from 1978 to 1981.Prosecuting the Powerful: War Crimes and the Battle for Justice
<b>A magnificent account of a noble obsession - the determination to make war criminals, and the people behind them, pay for what they have done</b>. Steve Crawshaw, who has devoted himself to campaigning for precisely that, explains in calm, careful detail why it's not only possible, but (in this disturbing age of Ukraine and Gaza) is actually starting to happen. For me, <b><i>Prosecuting The Powerful </i>isn't just compelling and very moving, it has all the force of a well-crafted thriller. I literally couldn't stop reading it</b>
John Simpson, BBC World Affairs Editor
In a world riven with war and atrocities, we are watching nations which boast a commitment to the rule of law showing contempt for it when it applies to them or their allies. <b>Powerful, timely and moving, Steve Crawshaw's book is an indictment of double standards and hypocrisy, and a brilliant call for justice</b>
Helena Kennedy
In a time when it's easy to despair about war atrocities, Steve Crawshaw reminds us of the important advance of international law. His personal experience and the use of arresting detail give us hope that those who are causing so much suffering today may face justice tomorrow. <b>A tour de force</b>
Lindsey Hilsum, International Editor, Channel 4 News and author of 'I Brought the War With Me: Stories and Poems from the Front Line
<b>In this powerful book, Steve Crawshaw, who has devoted his career to the pursuit of international justice, eloquently confronts one of the toughest dilemmas of the moment: how to hold war criminals to account</b>
Anne Applebaum, author of Autocracy, Inc
This is an important primer for our dark times
Luke Harding, The Observer
"Reads like a political thriller"
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
Newly revised and updated
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2025 MOORE PRIZE IN HUMAN RIGHTS WRITING
'Prosecuting The Powerful isn't just compelling and very moving, it has all the force of a well-crafted thriller. I literally couldn't stop reading it,' John Simpson, BBC World Affairs Editor
'A compelling account of a revolutionary moment in history,' Philippe Sands, The Spectator
'Powerful, timely and moving,' Baroness Helena Kennedy KC
'A tour de force,' Lindsey Hilsum, International Editor, Channel 4 News
'Absolutely brilliant,' Nick Cohen
Could we ever see Vladimir Putin in the dock for his crimes? What about a Western ally like Benjamin Netanyahu? Putting a country's leader on trial once seemed unimaginable. But as Steve Crawshaw describes in Prosecuting the Powerful - a blend of powerful eyewitness reporting and gripping history - the possibilities of justice have been transformed.
Crawshaw includes recent stories from the front lines of justice in Ukraine, Israel/Palestine and at The Hague, as well as his earlier encounters with war criminals like Slobodan Milošević. He tells the stories of those who have demanded protection for civilians and accountability for war criminals - from the Geneva Conventions to the Syrian police photographer who helped put one of Bashar al-Assad's torturers behind bars. He also follows the extraordinary unfolding story of two of the world's most powerful and well-connected leaders currently under indictment at the International Criminal Court in The Hague: Putin and Netanyahu.
For all the current darkness, this is a historic opportunity. The scales of justice can and must be balanced. Now is the moment.
LONGLISTED FOR THE 2025 MOORE PRIZE IN HUMAN RIGHTS WRITING
'Powerful,' Baroness Helena Kennedy KC
'I literally couldn't stop reading it,' John Simpson, BBC World Affairs Editor
Putting a country's leader on trial once seemed unthinkable. But with International Criminal Court arrest warrants out for Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu the possibilities of justice have been transformed. In this powerful blend of reportage and history, Steve Crawshaw visits the front lines of justice in Ukraine, Israel/Palestine and at The Hague. He follows the stories of those who have demanded protection for civilians - from the Swiss businessman behind the Geneva Conventions to the Syrian defector exposing Bashar al-Assad's torturers. From Gaza to Bucha, survivors demand justice. But for true accountability, governments must stop applying double standards and support prosecutions no matter the perpetrator. This is a historic moment. Justice is possible - if we have the will to pursue it.
'Eloquently confronts one of the toughest dilemmas of the moment: how to hold war criminals to account' Anne Applebaum, author of Autocracy, Inc
'Important' Luke Harding, The Observer
'Absolutely brilliant,' Nick Cohen
<b>A magnificent account of a noble obsession - the determination to make war criminals, and the people behind them, pay for what they have done</b>. Steve Crawshaw, who has devoted himself to campaigning for precisely that, explains in calm, careful detail why it's not only possible, but (in this disturbing age of Ukraine and Gaza) is actually starting to happen. For me, <b><i>Prosecuting The Powerful </i>isn't just compelling and very moving, it has all the force of a well-crafted thriller. I literally couldn't stop reading it</b>
John Simpson, BBC World Affairs Editor
In a world riven with war and atrocities, we are watching nations which boast a commitment to the rule of law showing contempt for it when it applies to them or their allies. <b>Powerful, timely and moving, Steve Crawshaw's book is an indictment of double standards and hypocrisy, and a brilliant call for justice</b>
Helena Kennedy
In a time when it's easy to despair about war atrocities, Steve Crawshaw reminds us of the important advance of international law. His personal experience and the use of arresting detail give us hope that those who are causing so much suffering today may face justice tomorrow. <b>A tour de force</b>
Lindsey Hilsum, International Editor, Channel 4 News and author of 'I Brought the War With Me: Stories and Poems from the Front Line
<b>In this powerful book, Steve Crawshaw, who has devoted his career to the pursuit of international justice, eloquently confronts one of the toughest dilemmas of the moment: how to hold war criminals to account</b>
Anne Applebaum, author of Autocracy, Inc
This is an important primer for our dark times
Luke Harding, The Observer
"Reads like a political thriller"
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
Newly revised and updated
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2025 MOORE PRIZE IN HUMAN RIGHTS WRITING
'Prosecuting The Powerful isn't just compelling and very moving, it has all the force of a well-crafted thriller. I literally couldn't stop reading it,' John Simpson, BBC World Affairs Editor
'A compelling account of a revolutionary moment in history,' Philippe Sands, The Spectator
'Powerful, timely and moving,' Baroness Helena Kennedy KC
'A tour de force,' Lindsey Hilsum, International Editor, Channel 4 News
'Absolutely brilliant,' Nick Cohen
Could we ever see Vladimir Putin in the dock for his crimes? What about a Western ally like Benjamin Netanyahu? Putting a country's leader on trial once seemed unimaginable. But as Steve Crawshaw describes in Prosecuting the Powerful - a blend of powerful eyewitness reporting and gripping history - the possibilities of justice have been transformed.
Crawshaw includes recent stories from the front lines of justice in Ukraine, Israel/Palestine and at The Hague, as well as his earlier encounters with war criminals like Slobodan Milošević. He tells the stories of those who have demanded protection for civilians and accountability for war criminals - from the Geneva Conventions to the Syrian police photographer who helped put one of Bashar al-Assad's torturers behind bars. He also follows the extraordinary unfolding story of two of the world's most powerful and well-connected leaders currently under indictment at the International Criminal Court in The Hague: Putin and Netanyahu.
For all the current darkness, this is a historic opportunity. The scales of justice can and must be balanced. Now is the moment.
LONGLISTED FOR THE 2025 MOORE PRIZE IN HUMAN RIGHTS WRITING
'Powerful,' Baroness Helena Kennedy KC
'I literally couldn't stop reading it,' John Simpson, BBC World Affairs Editor
Putting a country's leader on trial once seemed unthinkable. But with International Criminal Court arrest warrants out for Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu the possibilities of justice have been transformed. In this powerful blend of reportage and history, Steve Crawshaw visits the front lines of justice in Ukraine, Israel/Palestine and at The Hague. He follows the stories of those who have demanded protection for civilians - from the Swiss businessman behind the Geneva Conventions to the Syrian defector exposing Bashar al-Assad's torturers. From Gaza to Bucha, survivors demand justice. But for true accountability, governments must stop applying double standards and support prosecutions no matter the perpetrator. This is a historic moment. Justice is possible - if we have the will to pursue it.
'Eloquently confronts one of the toughest dilemmas of the moment: how to hold war criminals to account' Anne Applebaum, author of Autocracy, Inc
'Important' Luke Harding, The Observer
'Absolutely brilliant,' Nick Cohen