International Court in The Hague issues arrest warrant for Putin

On Friday, the Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin in connection with the situation in Ukraine.

This is stated in the ICC press release.

According to the court's press service, on March 17, 2023, Pre-Trial Chamber II issued arrest warrants for Putin and Maria Alekseevna Lvova-Belova, who is the Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children's Affairs.

Putin and Lvova-Belova are suspected of committing the war crime of illegal deportation and transfer of children from the occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation, which has been taking place since at least February 24, 2022.

"Pre-Trial Chamber II, based on the motions of the Prosecutor's Office of February 22, 2023, ruled that there are sufficient grounds to believe that each suspect is responsible for the war crime of illegal deportation of the population and illegal transfer of the population from the occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation, which caused harm to Ukrainian children," the statement emphasizes.

The Chamber notes that it considers the arrest warrants to be secret "in order to protect victims and witnesses, as well as to ensure the investigation".

"Nevertheless, taking into account that the conduct at issue in this situation is likely to continue and that public awareness of the warrants may contribute to the prevention of further crimes, the Chamber considers it to be in the interests of justice to authorize the Registry to make public the existence of the warrants, the names of the suspects, the crimes for which the warrants were issued and the measures of responsibility imposed by the Chamber," said Peter Hoffmann, acting president of the ICC.

The above-mentioned arrest warrants were issued on the basis of motions filed by the prosecutor's office on February 22, 2023.

Author - Olena Madiak, 17/03/2023