Kremlin threatens criminal court
The Hague Committee stands behind Putin’s arrest warrant
03/22/2023, 8:38 p.m
When the International Criminal Court issues an arrest warrant for the Russian President, the Kremlin is calm. At the same time, Moscow is threatening investigators and judges. The States parties to the The Hague Tribunal are not intimidated by this.
States parties to the International Criminal Court (ICC) have complained about threats from Russia following the issuing of an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin. The presidency of the Assembly of States Parties to the ICC said the body deplored “attempts to impede international efforts to establish criminal liability for acts prohibited under general international law”. It also reiterated its support for the ICC.
The Russian judiciary had opened investigations against ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan in response to the arrest warrant against Putin. According to Dutch media reports, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is said to have spoken about attacking the court in The Hague, Netherlands, with a hypersonic missile in retaliation.
The Chair of the ICC Assembly of States Parties said there had been “threats” against both the court and “threats of action against investigators and judges.” The assembly, which brings together all 123 States Parties to the ICC, reiterated their “unwavering support” for the Criminal Court.
“Nobody is above the law”
On Friday, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for the alleged kidnapping of thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia in the Ukraine war against Putin. In a first reaction, the Kremlin described the arrest warrant as “void” and “meaningless”. “We consider the wording of the question to be outrageous and unacceptable,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to the Russian state news agency TASS. “Accordingly, decisions of this kind are irrelevant for Russia from a legal point of view.”
Another arrest warrant was issued against the Russian President’s child rights commissioner, Maria Alexeyevna Lvowa-Belowa. According to the Ukrainian government, more than 16,000 children have been kidnapped from Ukraine to Russia since the Russian invasion began on February 24, 2022. Many of them are said to be in homes and foster families.
Leading Western politicians welcomed the arrest warrants for Putin and Lvova-Belova. US President Joe Biden described it as a “very strong signal”, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj spoke of a “historic decision”. “No one is above the law,” said Chancellor Olaf Scholz.