Russia will put on its wanted list ICC judges who issued arrest warrant for Putin, official says
Russia's Investigative Committee will soon put on the country's wanted list the judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC) who issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and another official, the chairman of the Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin said Thursday, according to state news agency RIA Novosti.
"The Investigative Committee then very quickly opened a criminal case against the chairman and three judges, who actively influenced the adoption of this decision. They will soon be put on the wanted list," Bastrykin said, speaking at the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum.
Some background: The International Criminal Court issued on March 17 an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s children's rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova for an alleged scheme to deport Ukrainian children to Russia.
The court said there “are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Putin bears individual criminal responsibility” for the alleged crimes, for having committed them directly alongside others, and for “his failure to exercise control properly over civilian and military subordinates who committed the acts.”
Some context: The ICC charges were the first to be formally lodged against officials in Moscow since it began its unprovoked attack on Ukraine last year.
Russia is not a member of the ICC. As the court does not conduct trials in absentia, any Russian officials charged would either have to be handed over by Moscow or arrested outside of Russia.
The Kremlin has labeled the ICC’s actions as “outrageous and unacceptable.”
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