MADRID, 20 May. (EUROPEAN PRESS) –
Countries that signed the Treaty of Rome establishing the International Criminal Court “unacceptable” Russian threats by listing Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and three judges of the institution “wanted persons”.
Presidency of the Assembly of States Parties to the CFI “It regrets these acts of intimidation and this unacceptable attempt to undermine the ICC’s mandate to investigate, punish and prevent the most serious international crimes.”published a statement.
In addition, countries have also declared. “strong support” To TPI, its elected officials and employees. “The protection of the Court’s integrity, including its independence from the judiciary and prosecution, is critical to the exercise of its mandate. We reaffirm our confidence in the CFI as an independent and impartial tribunal.”added.
On Friday, the Russian Interior Ministry announced that Khan from the UK and three ICC judges have been placed on the wanted list. “illegal arrest warrant” against Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was accused by the court of facilitating the forced deportation of Ukrainian children to Russian territory.
The Russian Government notes that both Khan and trial judges Tomoko Akane, Rosario Salvatore Aitala and Sergio Gerardo Ugalde Godinez took action. “without criminal liability” By taking action against a foreign head of state who has not recognized the Rome Statute, which forms the basis of the CFI, since 2016.
For this reason, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs accuses the prosecutor general and judges of making an unlawful decision against Putin and Child Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova, which violates the Convention on Prevention and Protection. Punishment of Crimes Committed Against Persons under International Protection “Heads of state enjoy absolute immunity from the jurisdiction of foreign states.”According to a statement from the Ministry of Interior gathered by Interfax.
The Ministry understands that TPI commits crimes by accusing people and supports its decision in Russian law. “clearly innocent”the commission of a particularly serious crime, and “attacking a state representative with diplomatic immunity to complicate international relations”.
This decision was advanced last week by Alexander Bastrikin, chairman of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, after he brought a criminal case against the CFI leadership and the judges responsible for this decision, considering their actions illegal according to Russia. there was no reason to hold Putin and Lvova-Belova responsible for the crime. “forcibly deported child”.
On the contrary, and as it stated in its March decision, the Court “reasonable grounds” believe in Putin “have individual criminal liability” for these crimes, good for their commissions “directly” or because you can’t “exercise adequate control over their civilian and military subordinates performing the acts”.
The Kremlin has repeatedly denied that it forcibly deported Ukrainian children in the face of accusations made by Kiev and its allies. According to the Ukrainian government, at least 16,000 children have migrated to Russian territory against their will since the beginning of the conflict; A recent study presented in February by Yale University condemned at least 6,000 Ukrainian children distributed to 40 boarding schools in Russia.
The arrest warrants represent the first international charges filed since the beginning of the conflict and came after months of work by a special investigative team affiliated with the CFI attorney general. For its publication, a pre-judge panel had to accept the validity of the evidence presented.
The probability of the ICC ending its prosecution of Putin is virtually zero for several reasons: the court cannot hear cases ‘in absentia’ of the accused, Russia withdrew from the Rome Statute, the court’s legal basis, in 2016, and as the Kremlin has repeated many times, any Russian He has not the slightest intention to hand over the official to the court.
Source: Noti Merica
