Extradition by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague Arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Commissioner for Children’s Rights under the President of the Russian Federation Maria Lvova-Belova, suspected of war crimes, in particular in the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia, “is an important decision for international justice and the people of Ukraine.” This was stated on Friday, March 17, by the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell. He called the order of the court in The Hague only the beginning of the path of “bringing Russia to justice.” “Immunity can not be” – wrote the head of EU diplomacy in the microblog Twitter.
German Justice Minister: Putin must be held accountable for unleashing a bloody war
“Whoever, like Putin, unleashes a bloody war, he must answer for it in court,” – said in an interview with the group Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (Marco Buschmann). Bushman called the ICC warrant for Putin’s arrest “an important signal of determination” and called for thinking about “creating a special tribunal to prosecute the crimes of aggressive war for consistent criminal prosecution.”
Kyiv’s reaction to the ICC warrant for Putin’s arrest
Kyiv also positively assessed the decision of the ICC. “The millstones of justice are turning: I welcome the decision of the ICC to issue arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova in connection with the forced transfer of Ukrainian children. International criminals will be prosecuted for child theft and other international crimes,” the Foreign Minister tweeted. Ukraine Dmitry Kuleba.
“This is a concrete signal to the Russian elites – what will happen to them next and why it won’t be “as before” … This is the beginning of the end of the Russian Federation in its current form on the world stage. This is a direct legal procedure. Wait,” said Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin expressed the opinion that world leaders will now “thrice think” before shaking Putin’s hand or sitting down at the negotiating table with him. “The world has received a signal that the Russian regime is criminal, and its leadership and henchmen will be held accountable,” – he wrote on Facebook.
Meanwhile, the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak, recalled that now Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova could be arrested on the territory of the ICC member states. According to the data that Yermak cites in his Telegram channel, more than 16,000 cases of forced deportation of children to Russia are currently being investigated in Ukraine. “The real numbers can be many times higher,” Yermak pointed out. According to him, 308 children have been returned to Ukraine from Russia so far.
AI comment on ICC warrant for Putin’s arrest
Responded to the decision of the International Criminal Court and in the international human rights organization Amnesty International (AI). “Persons in respect of whom there are reasonable suspicions of involvement in war crimes in Ukraine should know that they are expected in the dock, and it will not be possible to hide even behind the highest position,” AI Deputy Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia Denis Krivosheev. He emphasized that the ICC warrant for Putin’s arrest would have “great consequences” for the Russian president.
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