Russian Investigative Committee opens case against prosecutor and judges of the Hague Tribunal
Russia says issuing an arrest warrant for Putin is illegal
Russia's Investigative Committee has announced a criminal case against the prosecutor and judges of the International Criminal Court in The Hague (ICC) after they issued an arrest warrant for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and Russian Children's Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova.
The Investigative Committee stated that "the prosecution of the Russian president and the children's ombudsman by the court is inherently illegal, as there are no grounds for criminal prosecution."
The International Court of Justice in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Putin and Lvova-Belova on March 17.
The arrest warrants were issued on the basis of applications filed by the International Criminal Court's prosecutor's office on February 22, 2023.
"Mr. Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, born on October 7, 1952, President of the Russian Federation, is allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and unlawful transfer of population (children) from the occupied territories of Ukraine to the territory of the Russian Federation. The crimes were likely committed in the occupied territory of Ukraine at least since February 24, 2022. There are reasonable grounds to believe that Putin is individually criminally responsible for the above crimes, for committing the acts directly, together with other persons and/or through other persons, and for his failure to properly supervise the civilian and military subordinates who committed the acts."
Lvova-Belova is also suspected of the same.
It is noted that initially the warrants were secret, but it was decided to make the information public "to prevent further crimes."
In response to the ICC decision, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that Russia would not comply with it, as "it is not a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and has no obligations under it."
Background. Read more about how this warrant will affect the balance of political forces in Mind's article "Message from The Hague: Putin's Arrest Warrant Could Be a Turning Point in the War. What and to whom did the West want to convey?"
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