Friday International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant Russian President Vladimir Putin and Commissioner for Children’s Rights to the President of the Russian Federation Maria Lvova-Belova.
The ICC considers that they “are allegedly responsible for the war crime of illegal deportation of the population (children) and illegal transfer of the population (children) from the occupied territories of Ukraine to the territory of the Russian Federation. (pursuant to Articles 8(2)(a)(vii) and 8(2)(b)(viii) of the Rome Statute). The crimes are believed to have been committed in the occupied territory of Ukraine since at least February 24, 2022.”
An ICC press release notes that “there is reason to believe that Mr. Putin bears individual criminal responsibility for the above crimes, for acts directly, jointly with and/or through others ( article 25(3)(a) of the Rome Statute) and for his failure to exercise appropriate control over civilian and military subordinates who committed or allowed acts to be committed and who were under his effective authority and control consistent with the responsibility ultimate (article 28(b) of the Rome Statute).
The Commissioner for Children’s Rights to the President of the Russian Federation, Maria Lvova-Belova, is accused of the “war crime of illegal deportation of the population (children) and illegal transfer of the population (children) from occupied territories of Ukraine to the Russian Federation (pursuant to Articles 8(2)(a)(vii) and 8(2)(b)(viii) of the Rome Statute).
The ICC considers that Ms. Lvova-Belova “bears individual criminal responsibility for these crimes, for the commission of acts directly, jointly with others and/or through others (Article 25(3)(a) of the Rome Statute).
These arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova were issued on the basis of requests filed by the prosecution on February 22, 2023. But the ICC Chamber has previously ruled that they should be kept secret “for the protection victims and witnesses, and to ensure the security of the investigation”.
However, the ICC has decided to publish these warrants anyway, as the crimes alleged against Putin and Lvova-Belova continue, and therefore the ICC considers that “educating the public about the warrants can help prevent ‘other crimes’.
