Due to the alleged abductions of Ukrainian children, the International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Putin. The Court considers such actions as a war crime and is determined to hold the Russian President accountable.
The statement claimed that the Russian leader “is allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of the population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.”
Officially wanted by the ICC: putin and lvova-belova.
Kidnappers of Ukrainian children.
The Hague is waiting for them. pic.twitter.com/q0yaWHNOXR— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) March 17, 2023
Putin isn’t the only one The Court is after. A warrant for the arrest of Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, the Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation, has also been issued for similar allegations.
However, Moscow refuses to recognize the court’s jurisdiction. The Russian government has also made it clear that it doesn’t extradite its own citizens.
In the past week, they’ve announced:
Bannon’s business partner arrested
ICC arrest warrant issued for Putin
President Trump indictment leaked
Coincidence?
Or a distraction from bank bailouts & $4.4 Trillion in new liquidity at the Fed to stop the economy from collapsing?
— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) March 20, 2023
Ukraine is behind the court in this decision wholeheartedly even though they are also not a member of the court. They have given the ICC jurisdiction over its territory during this conflict. ICC prosecutor Karim Khan has visited Ukraine more than four times since opening the investigation nearly a year ago.
The pre-trial chamber of the court found “reasonable grounds to believe that each suspect bears responsibility for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population and that of unlawful transfer of population from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation, in prejudice of Ukrainian children.”
Arrest warrant issued for Russian President Vladimir Putin by International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes including deporting Ukrainian children https://t.co/lgsJBFMv9v
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) March 17, 2023
The court statement continued, “there are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr. Putin bears individual criminal responsibility” for the abduction of Ukrainian children. “For having committed the acts directly, jointly with others and/or through others (and) for his failure to exercise control properly over civilian and military subordinates who committed the acts,” the ICC statement added.
The ICC is not the only one going after Russian actions in Ukraine. Earlier this month the UN supported an inquiry that cited Russian attacks against civilians in Ukraine as possible crimes against humanity. The attacks cited in the inquiry included systematic torture and killing in occupied regions.