International Criminal Court issues arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday March 17 for his responsibility for war crimes committed in Ukraine. “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 Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova »presidential commissioner for children’s rights in Russia, says the ICC in a communiqué.
The head of state “is allegedly 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 (…). The crimes were allegedly committed in occupied Ukrainian territory at least from February 24, 2022,” she continues, adding that there are “reasonable grounds to believe that Mr. Putin is personally responsible for the above-mentioned crimes”.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs judged the decision “insignificant” et “meaningless”. ” This is just the beginning “, On the other hand, welcomed Andriy Yermak, chief of staff of the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, on Telegram. The Ukrainian prosecutor’s office, for its part, welcomed a “historic decision”.
Monday, the New York Times reported that the ICC was preparing to prosecute for the transfer of children to Russia and for the deliberate bombing of civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said recently after a visit to Ukraine that alleged child abductions “the subject of a priority investigation”.
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. 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.