DAY 288 | International Criminal Court issues arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin over war crimes

The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin for war crimes because of his alleged involvement in the abduction of children from Ukraine.

Putin “is allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation,” the court said in a statement.

It also issued a warrant Friday for the arrest of Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, the Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation on similar allegations.

Moscow has repeatedly denied accusations that its forces have committed atrocities during its one-year invasion of its neighbour and the Kremlin branded the court decision as "null and void" with respect to Russia.

While it is unlikely that Putin will end up in court any time soon, the warrant means that he could be arrested and sent to The Hague if travelling to any ICC member states.

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on her Telegram channel that the arrest warrants had "no meaning for our country" as it is not a party to the Rome Statute, the treaty underpinning the world's permanent war crimes tribunal.

'Hundreds' of children taken from Ukraine and treated as 'spoils of war'

Hundreds of children have been taken from Ukraine to Russia, the ICC's chief prosecutor Karim Khan said on Friday, in his first statement following the issuing of an arrest warrant against Vladimir Putin.

"Incidents identified by my Office include the deportation of at least hundreds of children taken from orphanages and children’s care homes," he said. "Many of these children, we allege, have since been given for adoption in the Russian Federation."

He said he had visited care homes in Ukraine where children are believed to have been taken from as part of his investigation into the issue.

"The accounts of those who had cared for these children, and their fears as to what had become of them, underlined the urgent need for action," he said.

"We must ensure that those responsible for alleged crimes are held accountable and that children are returned to their families and communities.

"We cannot allow children to be treated as if they are the spoils of war."

Source: The Telegraph, Verity Bowman, March 17, 2022

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