Pre-trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin in connection with crimes in Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin will be tried and may be arrested. It’s too early to get too excited, but the Russian dictator’s new international status as an official suspect of a crime is now a reality.
The arrest warrant
Pre-trial Chamber II issued warrants for the arrest of Putin and Maria Alekseevna Lvova-Belova, the authorized representative of the President of the Russian Federation for children.
Putin and Lvova-Belova are suspected of committing a war crime of illegal deportation and transfer of children from occupied regions of Ukraine to the Russian Federation, which has been going on since at least February 24, 2022.
“The Pre-Trial Chamber II, based on the motions of the Prosecutor’s Office dated February 22, 2023, determined that there are sufficient grounds to believe that each suspect is responsible for the war crime of illegal population deportation and illegal migration. of the population from the occupied regions of Ukraine to the Russian Federation, which caused harm to Ukrainian children “, – emphasizes the message of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The Chamber said it considered the arrest warrants secret “for the protection of victims and witnesses and for the purpose of securing the investigation.”
“However, considering that the actions at issue in this situation are likely ongoing and that public awareness of the warrants may help prevent further crime, the Chamber considers that in the interest of justice to allow the Registry to make public the existence of the warrant, the names of the suspects, the crimes for which the warrants were issued, and the penalties imposed by the Chamber,” announced Piotr Hofmansky, Acting President of the ICC.
Implications for Putin
The Hague warrant for the arrest of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin means that outside the Russian Federation he must be arrested and brought to trial, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said.
“From now on, the Russian president has the official status of a suspect in an international crime – the illegal deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children. The International Criminal Court has issued warrants for the arrest of the Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian children’s rights ombudswoman Maria Lvovskaya-Belova,” the Prosecutor General’s Office said in a statement.
This means that outside of Russia, Putin must be arrested and brought to trial. Kostin said the world has received a signal that the Russian regime is criminal and that its leadership and henchmen will be held accountable.
“This is a historic decision for Ukraine and the entire system of international law. World leaders will think three times before shaking his hand or sitting at the negotiating table with him. This is just the beginning of a long road to the restoration of justice,” added the prosecutor general.
In total, the deportation of more than 16 thousand children from Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkov and Kherson regions was recorded. But the real figure could be higher.
Where will they be imprisoned?
Currently, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court has been signed and ratified by 122 states in the world. They are obliged to strictly follow the decisions of the court.
Not recognized by Russia
Russia does not recognize the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. The jurisdiction of the ICC extends to crimes committed in the territories of countries that have ratified the Rome Statute, as well as to crimes committed by citizens of these countries without reference to territory. Russia has not ratified the Rome Statute, and neither has Ukraine. At the same time, Kyiv officially recognized the court’s jurisdiction in relation to possible crimes committed on the territory of Ukraine since the end of 2013.
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.