Complainants file ICC submission over drone attack on Turkish cargo ship Reyhan Sari

ANKARA, September 16. /TASS/. Complainants have filed a submission with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague over a drone attack on the Turkish cargo ship Reyhan Sari in the Black Sea that killed a Turkish sailor; evidence collected in the case has been submitted to the ICC prosecutor’s office, the maritime news portal HaberDenizde reported, citing Nuri Koray Kurun, a lawyer representing the complainants.

The filing will next undergo a preliminary review by the relevant ICC bodies, which will then decide whether to open a formal investigation into the case. Kurun estimated that the initial review could take about six months and the entire process up to two years.

The complainants include the shipowner, 12 crew members, who were on board during the attack, and the family of Savas Cakar, the 54-year-old sailor who was killed. According to Turkish media, Reyhan Sari came under attack on July 22 while carrying coal from Russia's Taman port to Trabzon.

The Turkish side attributes the strike to Ukraine. According to Kurun, one of the key pieces of evidence consists of video materials related to a Ukrainian operation aimed at striking vessels linked to Russia in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. He said materials concerning the operation, as well as footage of vessels being hit, appeared on official Ukrainian social media accounts.

"We have concrete information and images showing that the attack was carried out by the Ukrainian side," Kurun said. He added that the complainants included the evidence they had collected in their submission to the ICC.

The complainants are asking the ICC to consider the attack on their vessel under Articles 7 and 8 of the Rome Statute, which concern crimes against humanity and war crimes.