Want to be arrested by ICC, Vladimir Putin cannot enter 123 countries
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The International Criminal Court in The Hague has ordered the arrest of Russian President Vladimir (center) for war crimes in Ukraine. Photo/REUTERS
MOSCOW – The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on suspicion of war crimes in Ukraine. That means, this Kremlin leader cannot freely enter the 123 member countries of the ICC.
Russia rejects accusations of committing war crimes in Ukraine. Putin recently emphasized that what Moscow troops are doing in neighboring countries is the struggle for the existence of the Russian state.
Apart from Putin, an arrest warrant from the ICC was also addressed to the Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova. Both are held responsible for alleged war crimes related to the unlawful transfer of children from occupied territory in Ukraine to the territory of the Russian Federation.
The adviser to the President of Ukraine for Children’s Rights, Daria Herasymchuk, reported last month that nearly 14,000 Ukrainian children had been kidnapped.
“The warrant [penangkapan terhadap] Putin is very important for the signals he sends,” said Aisling Reidy, legal adviser at Human Rights Watch, as quoted by The Mirror, Saturday (18/3/2023).
“The ICC is gathering evidence, holding evidence and they are ready to act, once they can have someone responsible in their custody I think that is a very, very strong message that not only are they investigating now, but they are ready to act with a letter orders,” he said.
“The warrant probably doesn’t mean he’s going to end up in The Hague any time soon,” Jimmy Rushton, a Kiev-based independent foreign policy and security analyst told The Mirror.
What Will Happen to Vladimir Putin?
Reidy explained what could happen to Putin with the issuance of an arrest warrant by the ICC.
“Russia is not a member state of the ICC, obviously, and they are [ICC] only have jurisdiction because Ukraine has given them jurisdiction for crimes committed on their territory, no matter who did it. So it is a territorial jurisdiction,” he said.
