Vladimir Putin has been accused of illegally deporting children from Ukraine to Russia.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of being responsible for Moscow’s war crimes attack on Ukraine last February. The charges also include unlawful deportation of children, for which a court has issued an arrest warrant for Maria Alexeyevna Livova-Belova, Russia’s presidential commissioner for children’s rights.the kremlin has denies the allegations And said the arrest warrant is legally “invalid” because Moscow does not recognize the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.
Read also | Explained: What the arrest warrant against Putin means and what’s next
Meanwhile, the United Nations believes there is enough evidence to charge Putin with war crimes in Ukraine.
The ICC said the crimes were committed in Ukraine from February 24, 2022.
What are the charges against Mr. Putin?
according to ICC statementthe Russian president was “allegedly responsible for the war crimes of illegal deportation and transfer of children from occupied Ukraine to Russia”.
Going a step further, there are “reasonable grounds” to believe that Mr. Putin “directly co-operated with others to carry out these acts and failed” to exercise adequate control over the civilian and military subordinates who carried out the acts.
Citing the report of the United Nations Commission of Inquiry bbc Some of these children were forced to obtain Russian citizenship and placed with foster families so they ended up “permanently” in Russia, it said in a report.
Taking it a step further, the transfer is temporary, but both parent and child face “a series of barriers to bonding”. According to UN investigators, 16,221 children were forcibly taken to Russia.
These actions violated international humanitarian law and constituted war crimes, they added.
Ms. Lvova-Belova is a co-defendant in the case.
What other war crimes has Russia been reported to have committed?
In addition to rape and torture, Russians were also responsible for attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, a UN team of investigators said. bbc.
It also highlighted mass burial sites – Bucha and Izium (in Kharkov) – accusing Russia of more serious “crimes against humanity”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also accused Russia of committing 400 war crimes in the Kherson region alone.
How to prosecute war crimes?
The ICC prosecutes the most serious crimes of international concern, such as genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, Human Rights Watch said.
However, the ICC does not have the power to arrest suspects, and Russia is not a signatory to the treaty establishing the court (the Rome Statute), making extradition of any suspects nearly impossible.
How will the arrest warrant affect Mr Putin?
The Russian president enjoys undisputed power in his home country, so it is unlikely the Kremlin will hand him over to the ICC. Until his time in Russia, Mr Putin was not at risk of arrest.
However, Mr Putin could be detained if he leaves Russia, so he may have to restrict travel. But he is unlikely to show up in a country that wants to try him because of international sanctions imposed on him over the Ukraine war.
