The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant against the Russian leader over the transfer of children to Russia.
By NB with AFP
© MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV / Sputnik / Sputnik via AFP
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PFor its responsibility in war crimes perpetrated in Ukraine since the Russian invasion, the International Criminal Court (ICC) said on Friday it had issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Today, 17 March 2023, Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for two individuals in connection with the situation in Ukraine: Mr. Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and Mr.me Maria Alexeyevna Lvova-Belova, Russia’s presidential commissioner for children’s rights, the ICC said in a statement.
Vladimir Putin “is presumed responsible for the war crime of illegal deportation of population (children) and illegal transfer of population (children) from the occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation”, added the Court. “The crimes were allegedly committed in occupied Ukrainian territory at least from February 24, 2022,” the ICC continued, adding that there were “reasonable grounds to believe that Mr. Putin is personally responsible for the aforementioned crimes.”READ ALSO Philippe Labro – War in Ukraine: “Putin persists and signs”
Monday, the New York Times reported that the ICC was preparing to prosecute Russians for the transfer of children to Russia and for deliberate strikes on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said earlier this month after a visit to Ukraine that the alleged child abductions were “under investigation with priority”. The ICC, created in 2002 to judge the worst crimes committed in the world, has been investigating for more than a year into possible war crimes or crimes against humanity committed during the Russian offensive.
A “historic decision”
Neither Russia nor Ukraine are members of the ICC, but kyiv has accepted the court’s jurisdiction over its territory and is working with the prosecutor. Russia denies war crimes allegations. Experts admitted she was unlikely to hand over any suspects. “This is only the beginning,” welcomed the head of the presidential administration Andriï Iermak on Telegram. The Ukrainian prosecutor’s office hailed a “historic decision”. Volodymyr Zelensky also welcomed this decision: “A historic decision, which marks the beginning of a historic responsibility”, declared the Ukrainian president in a video published on Telegram.READ ALSO “Putin will face an international court, that’s the meaning of history”
Russian diplomacy denounced the “meaningless” and “insignificant” decisions of the ICC. “The decisions of the International Criminal Court are meaningless for our country, including from a legal point of view”, because Moscow has no obligation towards it, wrote on Telegram the spokeswoman for Russian diplomacy Maria Zakharova, without mentioning Vladimir Putin by name in her message. “Russia, like a number of states, does not recognize the jurisdiction of this court, therefore, from the point of view of law, the decisions of this court are null and void,” the doorman told reporters. -word of the Russian President, Dmitry Peskov.
“We welcome the step taken by the independent ICC to hold those at the top of the Russian regime, including Vladimir Putin, to account,” British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said on Twitter.
Those responsible for horrific war crimes in Ukraine must be brought to justice.
We welcome the step taken by the independent ICC to hold those at the top of the Russian regime, including Vladimir Putin, to account.
Work must continue to investigate the atrocities committed.
— James Cleverly���� (@JamesCleverly) March 17, 2023