ICC issues a warrant for the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin

Arrest warrants have been issued by judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Commissioner for Children’s Rights.

According to the ICC, they are suspected of committing a war crime by illegally deporting children from Ukraine to Russia.

According to the statement, there are substantial reasons to think President Putin has individual criminal responsibility for such deportations, which are said to have occurred since he started the full-scale invasion of Ukraine last February.

His children’s rights commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, argues the same thing.

According to BBC News, a number of commentators have suggested that the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrant is a symbolic gesture, as it is unlikely that Russia will hand over any suspects.

However, Sir Geoffrey Nice, who previously served as lead prosecutor at the war crimes trial of former Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic, believes that this perspective underestimates the significance of the ICC’s action.

Nice argues that the ICC’s move is a crucial step, as it demonstrates that there is sufficient evidence to suggest that Russian President Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine are criminal.

Nice emphasizes that it is essential for Putin to be regarded as a criminal by the international community.

Other Presidents who were on the Radar of the ICC

An ICC arrest warrant has been issued to Vladimir Putin, making him only the third serving president to receive one. The previous two were Sudan’s Omar al-Bashir and Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi.

Al-Bashir received two arrest warrants in 2009 and 2010 for crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide committed during the Darfur conflict, which led to the deaths of 300,000 people. Although he was later ousted as president, he has not yet been handed over to the ICC by Sudan’s rulers, who agreed to do so in 2020.

In 2011, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Gaddafi for crimes against humanity during anti-regime protests, but the case was terminated after he was killed a few months later.

Source: BBC News