By Vineet Malik | March 17, 2023 | London, England
The International Criminal Court (ICC) today indicted Russian Federation President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and the Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova pertaining to their alleged involvement in abductions of children from Ukraine.
The ICC President Piotr Hofmanski says “It is forbidden by International Law for occupied powers to transfer civilians from the territory they live in to other territories. Children enjoy special protection under the Geneva Convention. The ICC attaches great importance to the protection of victims, especially children. This is an important moment in the process of justice before the ICC. The judges have reviewed the information and evidence submitted by the Prosecutor and determined that there are credible allegations against these persons for alleged crimes.”
However, the execution will now depend on international co-operation, added Hofmanski.
The chamber made this announcement in the interest of justice to authorize the ICC Registry to publicly disclose the existence of the warrants, names of the suspects, nature of alleged crimes, the commission of war crimes and the modes of liability. It further underlined on prevention of the further commission of war crimes by Putin and his accomplice.
Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan KC says “We also underlined in our application that most acts in this pattern of deportations were carried out in the context of the acts of aggression committed by Russian military forces against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine which began in 2014. While addressing the United Nations Security Council in September last year, I had emphasized that the investigation of alleged illegal deportation of children from Ukraine was a priority for my office. As I stated in Bucha last year in May, Ukraine is a crime scene that encompasses a complex and broad range of alleged international crimes. We will not hesitate to submit further applications for warrants of arrest when the evidence requires us to do so."
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