ICC judges issue arrest warrant for Putin over war crimes in Ukraine

[BumRushDaShow]

Last edited Fri Mar 17, 2023, 02:05 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: Reuters

AMSTERDAM, March 17 (Reuters) - The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant on Friday against Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. The bold legal move will obligate the court's 123 member states to arrest Putin and transfer him to The Hague for trial if he sets foot on their territory.

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". Neither Russia not Ukraine are members of the ICC, although Kyiv granted it jurisdiction to prosecute crimes committed on its territory. The tribunal has no police force of its own and relies on member states to make arrests.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia found the very questions raised by the ICC "outrageous and unacceptable". Asked if Putin now feared travelling to countries that recognised the ICC, Peskov said: "I have nothing to add on this subject. That's all we want to say."

Stephen Rapp, U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues under former president Barack Obama, said: "This makes Putin a pariah. If he travels he risks arrest. This never goes away. Russia cannot gain relief from sanctions without compliance with the warrants." Putin is the third serving president to be the target of an ICC arrest warrant, after Sudan's Omar al-Bashir and Libya's Muammar Gaddafi.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/icc-judges-issue-arrest-warrant-against-putin-over-alleged-war-crimes-2023-03-17/

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Short article at post time.

Article updated.

Previous articles -

AMSTERDAM, March 17 (Reuters) - The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant on Friday against Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of being responsible for the war crime of illegal deportation of children from Ukraine. Moscow has repeatedly denied accusations that its forces have committed atrocities during its one-year invasion of its neighbour.

The ICC arrest warrants "have no meaning for our country, including from a legal point of view," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on her Telegram channel. She added that Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute, the treaty underpinning the world's permanent war crimes tribunal.

In its first warrant for Ukraine, the ICC called for Putin's arrest on suspicion of unlawful deportation of children and unlawful transfer of people from the territory of Ukraine to the Russian Federation. The Kremlin did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Earlier this week Reuters reported that the court was expected to issue warrants.

Separately the court issued a warrant for Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia's Commissioner for Children's Rights, on the same charges. Russia has not concealed a programme under which it has brought thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia, but presents it as a humanitarian campaign to protect orphans and children abandoned in the conflict zone.

AMSTERDAM, March 17 (Reuters) - The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant on Friday against Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of being responsible for war crimes committed in Ukraine. Moscow has repeatedly denied accusations that its forces have committed atrocities during its one-year invasion of its neighbour.

In its first warrant for Ukraine, the ICC called for Putin's arrest on suspicion of unlawful deportation of children and unlawful transfer of people from the territory of Ukraine to the Russian Federation. The Kremlin did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Earlier this week Reuters reported that the court was expected to issue warrants.

Separately the court issued a warrant for Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia's Commissioner for Children's Rights, on the same charges.

Original article -

AMSTERDAM, March 17 (Reuters) - The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant on Friday against Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of being responsible for war crimes committed in Ukraine. Moscow has repeatedly denied accusations that its forces have committed atrocities during its one-year invasion of its neighbour.

The ICC issued the warrant for Putin's arrest on suspicion of unlawful deportation of children and unlawful transfer of people from the territory of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.

Earlier this week Reuters reported that the court was expected to issue warrants, the first in its investigation into the Ukraine conflict.

Separately the court issued warrants for Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, Russia's Commissioner for Children's Rights, on the same charges.

[melm00se]

1. Putin would have to

leave Russia, go to a country who isn't friendly with Russia and is not afraid or intimidated by Russia.

There aren't many countries like that and none of them are places that Putin or his crony would visit anytime in the near future.

All and all this is a symbolic gesture that will lead to nothing but a line in history books.

[Beastly Boy]

11. Not necessarily

Slobodan Milosevich of Yugoslavia was arrested in Serbia, extradited to Hague and died in prison pending trial.

[melm00se]

14. Miloević's extradition

happened after the opposition defeated him (and he acknowledged them) in the 1996 election and the opposition took power.

Putin's support and control within Russia is still fairly strong so without a big shift in the power structure, he will hold office until he decides otherwise. When he leaves office, it will only be to hand power over to someone in his circle of supporters.

[Beastly Boy]

34. Something similar to this is probably what will have to take place to extradite Putin.

But it's not out of the question

[Backseat Driver]

24. Didn't CNN report that Xi might hop over to meet w/the alledged (LOL)

war criminal next week at the Kremlin?

[Rhiannon12866]

47. I read this as well just today

[bearsfootball516]

2. So what does this actually mean?

It's not like they can walk into the Kremlin and arrest him.

[Tommy Carcetti]

8. At the moment, not much.

Of course, if there's a regime change in Russia and the new regime wants to be rid of him, they could always hand him over at that point.

[ColinC]

20. This is probably going through a lot of folks heads right now...

It could be incentive to actually get rid of him sooner..

[DetroitLegalBeagle]

9. Not a lot in reality

There is pretty much no way to arrest him as long as he is in charge. He could be deposed and handed over, but most likely if deposed he'll just be shot by his own people. Could make visits to western nations impossible, but its not like that was going to be happening much anyway at this point.

[NullTuples]

50. Not much more than when they unanimously found Bush, Cheney & friends guilty of war crimes.

[Sneederbunk]

3. Send Dog the Bounty Hunter to pick him up.

[gay texan]

6. "Go with Christ, commrade- bro!" n/t

[Beastly Boy]

4. Trump in search for a suitable cell mate? No problem!

[Tommy Carcetti]

5. I foresee Putin not leaving Russia for the rest of his life. nt

[Coventina]

41. And may that be a short amount of time!! n/t

[SheltieLover]

7. Excellent! 👏👏👏👏 now kick them out of UN & declare as a terrorist state!

[Quakerfriend]

17. Yes, please! And, while they're at it

they should arrest Lavrov. He’s been jet setting all over the globe making deals with India, South Africa etc.

[SheltieLover]

27. Yes!

[ananda]

10. Well, that's a turn of events.

Wow

[tornado34jh]

12. Unfortunately, while this is a good thing, I don't think it changes much

Unless he goes to some place where there is an extradition treaty, nothing will change. However, I think all the vatniks in the Russian government probably know they will be next. If you're going for the head honcho, it probably will mean that they probably will be looked at as well.

[CaptainTruth]

13. Now can we see the notes from Trump's meetings with Putin?

[cbabe]

15. War criminals: no justice, no peace.

https://www.wsws.org › en › articles › 2008 › 05 › fbi-m23.html

FBI files indict Bush, Cheney and Co. as war criminals

The most stunning revelation in a 370-page Justice US Department Inspector General's report released this week was that agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation had formally opened a "War...

[republianmushroom]

16. good luck with that

[2naSalit]

18. It's a start. ...nt

[walkingman]

19. If I remember correctly, after George W Bush and several of his cohorts

were convicted by the ICC the U.S. said they do not recognize the jurisdiction of this legal body.

Seems how guilty someone is depends on your local politics. This same philosophy takes place here in Texas as well. Kind of makes it all meaningless doesn't it.

[former9thward]

30. Bush was never charged or tried by the ICC.

[walkingman]

36. Oops, you are right - they investigated and didn't charge 😁 But

Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Commission did - but of course they are not recognized by the US nor is the ICC? I guess if we don't recognize them it makes us innocent?

And yes, I find it disgusting just like I find Putin disgusting.

In what is the first ever conviction of its kind anywhere in the world, the former US President and seven key members of his administration were... found guilty of war crimes. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and their legal advisers Alberto Gonzales, David Addington, William Haynes, Jay Bybee and John Yoo were tried in absentia in Malaysia...At the end of the week-long hearing, the five-panel tribunal unanimously delivered guilty verdicts against Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and their key legal advisors who were all convicted as war criminals for torture and cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment.

https://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2012/05/12/bush-convicted-of-war-crimes-in-absentia/

[EX500rider]

42. "Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Commission" not really recognized by anybody.

Legitimacy
The former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, Param Cumaraswamy, called the KLWCT a private enterprise with no legal basis, and questioned its legitimacy. It does not possess a mandate from the United Nations, nor does the UN grant it recognition. It has no power to order arrests or impose sentences, and it is unclear if its verdicts are anything other than symbolic.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuala_Lumpur_War_Crimes_Commission

[walkingman]

46. Let me be as clear as I can - I consider "W" a war criminal because he invaded and

occupied a sovereign country and killed hundreds of thousands of people, thousands of American soldiers and destabilized the entire middle east FOR ABSOLUTELY NO REASON.

Sure he made up a theory and used it to justify his war but it was not the truth.....it was based on lies. For those that opposed the Iraq war the US did the exact same thing that was done to Vietnam protestors. And mark my words - it will not be long before we are in another war - it is what we have done since our founding.

I personally hold "W" responsible for this and also turning my beloved state of Texas into what it is today. Since he was elected as Gov. in 1994 this state is unrecognizable and has been run by cronies that came from his administration - Rick Perry, Greg Abbott, John Cornyn, and many more.

I do support the US helping Ukraine because Putin is also a war criminal and I hope he is held accountable.

YMMV ☮

[EX500rider]

53. While Iraq was a bad idea

I don't consider deposing a genocidal dictator who literally poison gassed his own people, installing a democracy and leaving anywhere near what Russia is doing, brutally invading & trying to conquer a democratic country with no rules of engagement so you can annex it and never leave.

[meow2u3]

21. Send the CIA to pick him up

Our spooks can nail Putin and he won't know what hit him. The CIA have been known to don disguises so that Putin will think he's meeting ruskie intelligence.

[niyad]

22. I want to know why the wetworks teams have not gotten him.

[friend of a friend]

28. I think we only do it to leaders of a country that doesn't have nukes like Iran and South Vietnam.

[Coventina]

43. Gerald Ford, followed by Jimmy Carter, made such actions illegal

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_11905

FWIW

I'm sure the CIA would/could sh*thouse lawyer a reason why the order wouldn't apply in Putin's case.

[niyad]

23. "In its first warrant for Ukraine"???? Odd phrasing.

[BumRushDaShow]

26. I think it is "Euro-speak"

since that is where Reuters is based. There are all kinds of variations of phrasing that are "different" between the U.S. and Europe for descriptions of things.

It's just like how Americans will say "Three years later, such and such has now happened..." whereas they would use "Three years on, such and such has now happened". I have even seen more U.S. journalists starting to use the "on" for passage of time phrases.

[Novara]

25. Even if nothing can be done about it now, it's still a really big deal.

I would have liked to see an arrest warrant for trump for human rights violations from separating children from their parents. Hundreds of children STILL have not been reunited and may never see their parents again. If that isn't a human rights violation, I don't know what is.

But the US is not a member of the ICC, thanks to Dumbo Dubya.

[friend of a friend]

29. But it keeps him from traveling to any country willing to arrest him.

[Mosby]

33. The ICC treaty violates the US constitution.

Lots of people think PBO is a war criminal, should he be handed over to a foreign country, tried and executed?

Barack Obama Is A War Criminal

https://harvardpolitics.com/obama-war-criminal/

[Coventina]

44. The ICC does not have a death penalty. n/t

[Roc2020]

31. If symbolism means anything

this is as gigantic as it gets. yes, practically it will be extremely difficult although not impossible that Putin will be actually arrested. But just the fact the ICC issued the arrest order is definitely NOT giving Putin an inch.

[Mosby]

32. Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute.

He can't be tried at the ICC for anything.

[muriel_volestrangler]

49. There's now an update in the OP:

"Neither Russia not Ukraine are members of the ICC, although Kyiv granted it jurisdiction to prosecute crimes committed on its territory". Which I presume is what makes this theoretically possible.

[jaxexpat]

35. That's it! Ask the Intenational Criminal Court to investigate the Trump coup.

They're totally going after Putin with less than 13 months assembling a case.

What could they have that we don't? Or what do we have that they don't?

I wonder, could it be they're investigations are not staffed with traitors to justice and democracy? Maybe they didn't start off with the presumption that Putin would win, slow balling their effort to bring him to justice.

[BumRushDaShow]

38. "What could they have that we don't?"

Putin illegally invaded a sovereign nation, ordered the slaughter thousands, directed the destruction of civilian targets like schools and hospitals, where much of it was recorded including uncovering mass graves, and forced the displacement of millions who fled. He has also risked a catastrophe multiple times by directing shelling near the nuclear plants there.

IOW, what he has done is in a whole other category.

[jaxexpat]

45. I speak of the fellow who, had he kept the Whitehouse, would totally align himself with Putin.

The enormity of the crime in the Ukraine becomes a relative thing when you imagine the US as co-conspirator. Trump abetted Putin's rampage throughout his term. Where is the call to hold Trump responsible for green lighting Putin's atrocities?

My question is, would the US legal system go after him like the ICC has gone after Putin? I think not, because in America, it's the politics which remain toxic to life for hundreds of years.

[BumRushDaShow]

48. Well you're preaching to the choir here

but the difference is in the actual time in that leadership position. Putin has been President or PM for almost 25 years. 45 had 4 years and was booted out.

Putin's crimes have easily gone beyond "financial" ones like 45, and are well known, having ranged from polonium (and other lethal susbsances) poisonings and "falling from a window" assassinations to sending his own hapless soldiers into a radioactive zone completely unprotected (Chernobyl) to romp around and cause havoc not realizing the thin layer of topsoil on the surface is barely covering the horridly radioactive soil from the reactor meltdown of over 35 years ago (that is still melting down but obviously contained in a structure that they were trying to play chicken with to damage). His incursion into and occupation of Crimea was the prelude to what we see happening now.

So we are talking a whole different level of depravity.

The thing about the ICC though, as has been posted in this thread, is that Russia does not recognize it, so it's more a hinderance in terms of any future travel to countries that do recognize it (not unlike what I believe happened with Rumsfeld when the ECCHR filed cases against him in Germany and France and he was supposedly trying to avoid being arrest - or so the rumors were flying).

But don't expect the type of "prosecution" and "justice" from the ICC that magically lands him in some kind of jail and try to compare to the U.S. slog of a judicial system.

[jaxexpat]

51. Got it. Thanks.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

37. Tough luck Pooty Poot

[Botany]

39. Pick his ass up and deport him to Ukraine to stand trial there.

The man has the blood of God only knows how many millions on his hands. Let him
sit in the dock and be shown the evidence to his face.

[Kennah]

40. Offer a bounty to top Russian military leaders and Russian oligarchs

[orangecrush]

52. KICK

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

54. It's time for the bounty hunters folks.

He's a terrorist as well as a war criminal.