Russia scoffs but Putin could stand trial for alleged war crimes, ICC chief prosecutor says

 

The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor believes Russian President Vladimir Putin could stand trial for alleged crimes committed during Russia’s war in Ukraine, he told CNN on Friday, despite Moscow’s arguments that it is not subject to the court’s decisions. In an interview with CNN’s Clarissa Ward, Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan pointed to historic trials of Nazi war criminals, former Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milošević, and former Liberian leader Charles Taylor, among others. “All of them were mighty, powerful individuals and yet they found themselves in courtrooms,” he said.

The ICC issued arrest warrants on Friday for Putin and Russian official Maria Lvova-Belova for an alleged scheme to deport Ukrainian children to Russia – a practice the Russian government has defended as saving them while denying that the deportations are forced. The move has already made history by making Putin the first head of state of a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council to be issued with an arrest warrant, Khan pointed out. Created to try genocide, crimes against humanity, crimes of aggression and war crimes, the ICC is known as the world’s “court of last resort.” Though 123 countries are parties to the treaty that brought the court into existence, there are significant exceptions including Russia, the United States, Ukraine, and China. Russia withdrew from the ICC treaty under a directive signed by Putin in 2016.

The Kremlin on Friday rejected the arrest warrants as “unacceptable,” arguing that it is not subject to the ICC’s decisions. “Russia, like a number of states, does not recognize the jurisdiction of this court and, accordingly, any decisions of this kind are null and void for the Russian Federation from the point of view of law,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov tweeted on Friday. But Khan said it doesn’t matter. “Article 27 of the Rome Statute makes it very clear that the official position of an individual is irrelevant to the jurisdiction of the court. The independent judges of the court have also found it appropriate” to issue the warrant, he added. The court does not conduct trials in absentia, so Russian officials charged would either have to be handed over by Moscow or arrested outside of Russia. But ICC judges could still allow confirmation hearings – where judges assess the evidence before a trial – to proceed without them, Khan said. The chief prosecutor also acknowledged the speed with which he has brought charges over Russia’s actions in Ukraine – notable for a court that has been often criticized for its bureaucracy.