International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for the President of Russia
President of russia, vladimir putin © pixabay.com
The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin.
According to a statement published on the ICC's website, the Pre-Trial Chamber has determined that Putin committed a war crime involving the illegal deportation and transfer of children from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia following the start of a full-scale war against Ukraine.
An arrest warrant has also been issued for Maria Alexeyevna Lvova-Belova, the children's ombudsman in Russia, who is also accused of the same crimes. According to the statement, Belova has individual criminal responsibility for the crimes committed.
A few months ago, the Ukrainian ombudsman reported that at least 16,200 Ukrainian children had been illegally deported by Russia. A Russian commissioner for children's rights was also involved in one of these cases and took one of these children into her family.
Interestingly, the ICC has not previously brought charges against heads of state in its cases, making this decision historic. The judicial process will continue, and the charges against Putin and Belova will have to be proven in court.
