The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, citing his alleged involvement in the abduction of Ukrainian children.
A warrant was also issued on Friday for Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, Commissioner for Children’s Rights at the Office of the President of the Russian Federation, after the ICC said there were “reasonable grounds to believe that any suspect is responsible for the war crime of deportation of population and that of illegal transfer of population from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation, to the detriment of Ukrainian children”.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR: INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT LAUNCHES ‘LARGEST EVER’ WAR CRIMES INVESTIGATION
Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures as he delivers his annual state of the nation address in Moscow February 21, 2023. (Sergei Karpukhin, Sputnik, Kremlin pool photo via AP)
The United States is not a member of the International Criminal Court and does not assist or recognize the authority of the judicial body.
The ICC wrote that Putin “is allegedly responsible for the war crime of illegal deportation of population (children) and illegal transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.”
WHICH ICC ISSUED THE WARRANTY TO ARREST PUTIN AND WHAT CONSEQUENCES SHOULD IT FACE?
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova rejected the arrest warrant saying: “The decisions of the International Criminal Court have no meaning for our country, even from a legal point of view.”
“Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute of the ICC and has no obligations under it,” Zakharova said. “Russia does not cooperate with this body and possible ‘prescriptions’ for arrest coming from the International Court of Justice will be legally null and void for us.”
A view of the exterior view of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, archive)
Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin cheered the decision.
“Now, if Putin leaves Russia, he would be arrested and handed over to the ICC,” Kostin said. “World leaders will think twice before shaking his hand or sitting down with Putin at the negotiating table. It is another clear signal to the world that the Russian regime is criminal.”
While the court was established as an international judicial body with the signing of the Treaty of Rome in 1998, the International Criminal Court began operating in 2002 with its headquarters in The Hague, the Netherlands.
To date, 123 countries have ratified the treaty and approved the court’s authority in international proceedings.
ILHAN OMAR SAYS WE MUST ENTER THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT BEFORE IT CAN HOLD PUTIN ACCOUNTABLE FOR WAR CRIMES
The court’s function is to prosecute the perpetrators of the worst crimes, including genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. It has global jurisdiction and is intended as a last resort when national governments are unable or outright refuse to prosecute.
Last year, the International Criminal Court announced it had launched the largest “single-field” investigation since its inception 20 years ago into war crimes committed during Russia’s deadly war in Ukraine.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting of the expanded council of the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office in Moscow on Wednesday. (PAVEL BEDNYAKOV/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images)
A team of 42 investigators, forensic experts and support staff has been sent to Ukraine to provide support to authorities investigating war crimes.
