A public affairs analyst, Emesakoru Enifome, has described as commendable the arrest warrant issued against Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin, and one of his aides over war crimes in Ukraine, by the International Criminal Court.
According to him, the arrest warrant will serve as deterrence to other world leaders who may want to commit war crime.
“Pre-Trial Chamber II of the ICC issued warrants of arrest for two individuals in the context of the situation in Ukraine: Mr Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and Ms Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova,” the ICC said in a statement on Friday.
The court accused the duo of being responsible for the war crimes of unlawful deportation of children and unlawful transfer of children from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.
The crimes, the court said, were allegedly committed in Ukrainian-occupied territory at least from February 24, 2022.
It noted that it has reasonable grounds to believe that Mr. Putin is responsible for having committed the acts directly or jointly with others and/or through others.
“There are reasonable grounds to believe that Ms Lvova-Belova bears individual criminal responsibility for the aforementioned crimes, for having committed the acts directly, jointly with others and/or through others,” the court said about Mr Putin’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights.
The allegations were considered by Pre-Trial Chamber II based on the prosecution’s applications of 22 February 2023 and the arrest warrant issued.
“The Chamber considered that the warrants are secret in order to protect victims and witnesses and also to safeguard the investigation,” the statement said.
However, noting that the allegations are ongoing and that public awareness of the warrants may contribute to the prevention of further commission of crimes, the Chamber considered that it is in the interests of justice to publicly disclose the existence of the warrants, the name of the suspects, the crimes for which the warrants are issued, and the modes of liability as established by the Chamber.
Set up in 2002, the ICC is a court of last resort for the world’s worst crimes, when countries cannot or will not prosecute suspects.
Prosecutor Khan launched an investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine just days after Russia’s invasion.
Khan recently posted pictures from a visit to Ukraine alongside empty cots in an empty children’s care home, and said that investigating alleged child abduction was a “priority”.
“It’s poignant,” he said. “One sees empty cribs and empty beds juxtaposed with paintings by those children on the walls.”
Zelensky, who met Khan on his visit, welcomed the arrest warrants for his nemesis in Moscow.
“A historic decision from which historic responsibility will begin,” Zelensky said.
“Deportations of Ukrainian children and their transfer to Russian foster families for illegal adoptions are part of Russia’s genocide of Ukrainians. Russian officials must stand trial for their crimes”, said Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba.
Vladimir Putin’s arrest warrant secures the status of the Russian dictator as an officially prosecuted international criminal
Ukraine’s Western allies also hailed the move, with Britain calling it “welcome” and the European Union saying it was “just the start”. Human Rights Watch said it was a “big day for the many victims” of Russian forces.
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