Arrest Warrant for Putin: International Criminal Court

On Friday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant. For Russian President Vladimir Putin for his alleged involvement in the kidnapping of children and adolescents from Ukraine.

What it means: Some of the first international charges issued by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are the arrest warrants for Putin and another Russian official.

• Due to similar allegations, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova.
• The New York Times. Which first reported on upcoming war cases and arrest warrants, stating that more than 40 parties to the ICC had requested its intervention.
• According to the state-run media outlet TASS. The Kremlin has previously stated that it does not recognize the ICC or its jurisdiction.

The situation now:

According to a Conflict Observatory report released in February. Russia systematically relocated at least 6,000 children from Ukraine to Russia since the beginning of the war.

• According to the report, many of the children who were transported to camps or other facilities engaged in pro-Russian reeducation efforts. A portion of the offices is utilized for child care or reception in Russia and Crimea.
• The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan. Previously stated that the alleged abductions were a top priority for his investigators.
• Energy facilities, water supplies, and residential structures have all been frequent targets of Russian missile strikes.

The Rome Statute, which established the International Criminal Court, outlaws the occupying power’s forced deportation or forcible transfer of populations from the land they legally occupy.

• Russia marked the resolution however later pulled out of its help in 2016.
• Despite not being a member of the Rome Statute. Ukraine has twice accepted the ICC’s jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed on its territory.

What they are asserting:

Judge Piotr Hofmaski, the president of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Stated on Friday that “this is an important moment for the process of justice before the ICC.”

• Hofmański said the items in the capture warrants are confidential to safeguard the characters of casualties.
• “However, in the interest of justice and to prevent the commission of future crimes. The judges of the chamber decided with this case to make the existence of the warrants public.”
• Dmytro Kuleba, the foreign minister of Ukraine, praised the ICC’s decision. Stated that Putin and Lvova-Belova “will hold accountable for stealing children.”

Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson for the Kremlin. Stated to state media on Friday that Russia views the ICC’s warrants as “null and void” due to its lack of recognition of the court’s jurisdiction.

• The allegations made by the court against Putin and Lvova-Belova were not discussed by Peskov or Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova.
• According to Russian state media, Lvova-Belova praised the warrant for her arrest, framing it as the international community recognizing her efforts to rescue children from a war zone.

The European Union, Japan, the United States, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom have all personally endorsed Lvova-Belova. Due to the fact that ICC cannot hold a trial unless the relevant individuals are in custody. And Russia is unlikely to hand over its own citizens, neither case will likely proceed to trial.

This month, the New York Times reported that the Pentagon was preventing the Biden administration from sharing U.S. intelligence with the International Criminal Court (ICC) regarding Russian war crimes in Ukraine for fear of setting a precedent for American prosecutions.

In the early days of the war, allegations of war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Or genocide was the subject of an investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

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