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    ICC Arrest warrants issued for Putin and his children's rights commissioner

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    • Post n°1

    Ukraine Flag ICC Arrest warrants issued for Putin and his children's rights commissioner

    Post by Kitkat Fri 17 Mar 2023, 16:40

    Arrest warrants issued for Putin and his children's rights commissioner

    Arrest warrants have been issued by judges at the International Criminal Court for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Commissioner for Children's Rights.
    In a statement, the ICC says they are suspected of the war crime of unlawfully deporting children, from Ukraine to Russia.
    There are reasonable grounds to believe President Putin bears individual criminal responsibility for such deportations, the statement says, adding it is alleged to have taken place since he launched the full- scale invasion of Ukraine last February.
    It says the same thing of his children's rights commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova.


    Forced deportation of over 16,000 children to Russia, Ukraine estimates

    Since Ukraine was invaded more than a year ago, its government estimates over 16,000 children are thought to have been transferred to Russia or Russia-controlled areas.
    Earlier, United Nations investigators said the forced deportation of Ukrainian children amounted to a war crime.
    The UN Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine said there was evidence of the illegal transfer of hundreds of Ukrainian children to Russia.
    The Commission's report is categorical that Russia also committed other war crimes in Ukraine.
    They include attacks on hospitals, torture, rape and wilful killings.
    Russia has repeatedly denied committing atrocities in its invasion.
    Read more here


    This is just the beginning, says Ukraine

    As we've just reported, judges at the International Criminal Court have issued arrest warrants for Russia's President, Vladmir Putin, and his Commissioner for Children’s Rights, Maria Lvova-Belova.
    Ukraine has responded, with presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak saying: "This is just the beginning."
    And Ukraine's prosecutor general has called it a "historic" decision.


    Historic decision for us and international law - Ukrainian prosecutor

    Ukraine's prosecutor general has hailed the ICC's decision to issue an arrest warrant.
    "The world received a signal that the Russian regime is criminal and its leadership and henchmen will be held accountable," Andriy Kostin said in a statement on social media.
    "This is a historic decision for Ukraine and the entire system of international law."
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    • Post n°2

    Ukraine Flag Re: ICC Arrest warrants issued for Putin and his children's rights commissioner

    Post by Kitkat Fri 17 Mar 2023, 16:56

    Summary


    • An arrest warrant is issued against Russian President Vladimir Putin by the International Criminal Court in the Hague

    • It accuses him of being responsible for war crimes in Ukraine, including the unlawful deportation of children

    • Russia has repeatedly denied that its forces have committed atrocities in Ukraine

    • A warrant has also been issued for Russia's commissioner for children's rights

    • Russia does not recognise the ICC's jurisdiction and a foreign ministry spokeswoman says its decision's has "no significance"

    • Russia earlier threatened to destroy any fighter jets given to Ukraine by its allies after two countries promised planes

    • Meanwhile, Finland's bid to join the Nato military alliance has finally secured the backing of Turkey's president
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    • Post n°3

    Ukraine Flag Re: ICC Arrest warrants issued for Putin and his children's rights commissioner

    Post by Kitkat Fri 17 Mar 2023, 17:28

    Russia says ICC warrant has no significance

    BBC
    Russia has repeatedly denied accusations of atrocities during its invasion of Ukraine.
    The Kremlin has also repeatedly said it does not recognise the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court and says it bears no obligations under it.
    Responding to the arrest warrant against Putin, a Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman says it has "no significance whatsoever".
    "The decisions of the International Criminal Court have no meaning for our country, including from a legal point of view," spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on her Telegram channel.
    "Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and bears no obligations under it. Russia does not cooperate with this body, and possible 'recipes' for arrest coming from the International Court will be legally null and void for us."


    Analysis: An extraordinary development in the Ukraine war

    Frank Gardner - BBC News, Security Correspondent
    ICC Arrest warrants issued for Putin and his children's rights commissioner 9223506d-ba71-4f95-b95c-99ab31717204
    Reuters

    This, on the face of it, is an extraordinary development in Russia’s year-old invasion of Ukraine.
    Of all the many alleged and well-documented war crimes committed there by Russian forces, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has chosen to focus on the apparent forced abduction of Ukrainian children to Russia.
    In the eyes of the Court, the blame rests squarely with President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights, Maria Lvova-Belova.
    The arrest warrants are in response to the alleged war crime of unlawful transfer of children from Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.
    A statement issued by the ICC said the arrest warrants were intended to be secret in order to protect victims and witnesses.
    But, it said it was in the interests of justice to publicise them in order to prevent any further abductions.
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    • Post n°4

    Ukraine Flag Re: ICC Arrest warrants issued for Putin and his children's rights commissioner

    Post by Kitkat Fri 17 Mar 2023, 17:28

    Will Putin be arrested?

    The ICC was created to prosecute and bring to justice those responsible for the worst crimes - genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. The court has global jurisdiction.
    It is a court of last resort, intervening only when national authorities cannot or will not prosecute.
    The ICC has no powers to arrest suspects, and can only exercise jurisdiction within countries who are signed up to the agreement that set up the court, known as the Rome Statute.
    Russia is not a signatory to that agreement - so Vladimir Putin or Maria Lvova-Belova will not be extradited, and of course Putin is the Russian president.
    The ICC relies on countries worldwide to help make arrests and transfer suspects to The Hague.


    Some disabled children did not receive care and medication - UN report

    BBC News
    A bit more detail now from that United Nations report we mentioned earlier - it outlines that "some children with disabilities did not receive adequate care and medication".
    The UN says Russia has introduced policies such as the granting of Russian citizenship and the placement of children in foster families to "create a framework in which some of the children may end up remaining permanently" in Russia, the report notes.
    While the transfers were supposed to be temporary "most became prolonged", with both parents and children facing "an array of obstacles in establishing contact", UN investigators wrote.
    In some cases, parents or children told the Commission once in Russia-controlled areas, transferred children were made to wear "dirty clothes, were screamed at, and called names".
    It also quotes witnesses as saying that the smaller children transferred may have not been able to establish contact with their families and might, as a consequence, "lose contact with them indefinitely".
    The forced deportations of Ukrainian children "violate international humanitarian law, and amount to a war crime", concludes the report.
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    • Post n°5

    Ukraine Flag Re: ICC Arrest warrants issued for Putin and his children's rights commissioner

    Post by Kitkat Fri 17 Mar 2023, 17:29

    'Unlikely to worry Putin much - in short term'

    The ICC has issued an arrest warrant against Vladimir Putin, but how concerned will he be?
    Jonathan Leader Maynard, lecturer in international politics at King's College London, says this is "unlikely to worry Putin much in the short run".
    "The ICC relies on cooperation from governments to actually arrest people, and the Russian government is obviously not going to cooperate in this respect - nor is it a signatory to the Rome Statute that created the ICC," he adds.
    But it could create complications for Putin further down the line, he says.
    ICC Arrest warrants issued for Putin and his children's rights commissioner 2633593402  In terms of the freedom of his travel round the world, or in a scenario in which he fell from power.
    ICC Arrest warrants issued for Putin and his children's rights commissioner 2633593402 But it seems extremely unlikely, at present, that we'll ever actually see Putin appear before the ICC."


    Putin's arrest warrant like toilet paper - Medvedev

    Reaction is coming in thick and fast now. Russia's former leader Dmitry Medvedev goes as far to compare the warrant for Vladimir Putin's arrest to "toilet paper".
    The man who served as president of Russia between some of Putin's terms, and later had a long stint as prime minister, has been extremely vocal and supportive of the war in Ukraine.


    Few expected prosecutors would go right to the top

    Anna Holligan - Reporting from The Hague, BBC
    Inside the International Criminal Court there's an incongruous quiet.
    This is one of the most ambitious cases the ICC has ever embarked upon.
    There's been considerable speculation about if and when the ICC would identify suspects.
    Few expected the prosecutor to go right to the top.


    Putin's spokesman: This is outrageous and unacceptable

    Steve Rosenberg - BBC Russia editor
    On a brief telephone conference call with journalists tonight, Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov had this response to the ICC arrest warrant for President Putin:
    “The very question [raised by the ICC] is outrageous and unacceptable. Russia, along with several other states, does not recognise the jurisdiction of that court and thus any decisions of this kind for Russia are null and void from a legal point of view.”
    Peskov declined to take any further questions on the subject.


    Warrants will make Putin an international pariah

    Anna Holligan - Reporting from The Hague
    The International Criminal Court (ICC) has made President Vladimir Putin a wanted man.
    Human Rights Watch say the warrants "send a clear message that giving orders to commit or tolerating serious crimes against civilians may lead to a prison cell in The Hague".
    Russia is not a member of the ICC and there is no expectation any suspects will be handed over.
    But, the warrant will make the Russian president an international pariah and make it hard for him to travel, especially to any country that is signed up to the ICC.
    ICC members are obliged to arrest anyone indicted by the court.
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    • Post n°6

    Ukraine Flag Re: ICC Arrest warrants issued for Putin and his children's rights commissioner

    Post by Kitkat Fri 17 Mar 2023, 17:30

    What other war crimes is Russia accused of?

    BBC

    Enlarge this image Click to see fullsize
    ICC Arrest warrants issued for Putin and his children's rights commissioner 0a420df3-5397-47c8-82b2-f8837be698ef
    Reuters

    The ICC's arrest warrant is focusing on the apparent forced abduction of Ukrainian children to Russia.
    The UN says there's evidence hundreds of Ukrainian children have been moved to Russia - and it says this is a war crime. But the UN says Russia also committed other war crimes in the country.
    Ukraine says Russian forces committed more than 400 war crimes just in the Kherson region - including civilians being abducted and killed.
    Elsewhere, mass burial sites have been found in several parts of Ukraine previously occupied by Russian troops, including some holding civilian bodies showing signs of torture.
    Russia denies its troops intentionally target civilians or have committed atrocities in occupied areas. More here.


    ICC says it made warrants public in effort to prevent further crimes

    Let's take another look at the ICC statement on the arrest warrant.
    The court alleges Vladimir Putin is responsible for war crimes, and has focused its claims on the unlawful deportation of children from occupied Ukraine to Russia.
    It says the crimes were committed in Ukraine from 24 February 2022 - when Russia launched its full-scale invasion.
    Russia's commissioner for children's rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, is also wanted by the ICC for same crimes.
    Judges had mulled issuing secret warrants but decided that making them public could "contribute to the prevention of the further commission of crimes".
    You can read the statement in full here.


    Who is Maria Lvova-Belova?


    Enlarge this image Click to see fullsize
    ICC Arrest warrants issued for Putin and his children's rights commissioner De28666b-eead-41e0-9d66-a4a4bf45c9ff
    EPA

    It is not just President Vladimir Putin who is facing allegations of war crimes - also the focus of the ICC is Maria Lvova-Belova.
    So what do we know about her?
    She was born in Penza October 1984 and is Putin's commissioner for children’s rights.
    Lvova-Belova has held that role since October 2021 and previously was a senator for the Penza Oblast.
    The 38-year-old faces accusations of being responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of children and that of unlawful transfer of children from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russia, the ICC says.


    Lvova-Belova claims she adopted boy from Mariupol

    Vitaliy Shevchenko - BBC Monitoring

    Enlarge this image Click to see fullsize
    ICC Arrest warrants issued for Putin and his children's rights commissioner 2634c8f2-7178-407d-8420-1cf878d343c5
    EPA

    Here's a little more background information on Maria Lvova-Belova, Putin's children's commissioner whose arrest the International Criminal Court is also seeking.
    She previously claimed to have adopted a 15-year-old boy from Mariupol herself, telling Putin last month it was "thanks to you".
    In September last year, she spoke about the transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia.
    She complained Ukrainian children taken from Mariupol to Russia "spoke badly about the [Russian] president, said awful things and sang the Ukrainian anthem".
    They "started being integrated" after being placed in adopted families in Russia, she said.
    "So yes, there are some bad things initially, but then they transform into a love for Russia," she said.
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    • Post n°7

    Ukraine Flag Re: ICC Arrest warrants issued for Putin and his children's rights commissioner

    Post by Kitkat Fri 17 Mar 2023, 17:31

    Putin’s ‘travel options extremely limited’ after international criminal court warrant



    International criminal court issues arrest warrant for Russia's president, Vladimir Putin – video
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    • Post n°8

    Ukraine Flag Re: ICC Arrest warrants issued for Putin and his children's rights commissioner

    Post by Kitkat Fri 17 Mar 2023, 17:37

    Lvova-Belova insists Russia 'creating good conditions for children'

    BBC
    The BBC has now had some reaction from Maria Lvova-Belova - Putin's children's commissioner who has also been issued with an arrest warrant.
    According to the Russian Ria Novosti news agency, Lvova-Belova says: "It's great that the international community has appreciated this work to help the children of our country.
    "That we don't leave them in war zones, that we take them out, that we create good conditions for them, that we surround them with loving, caring people."


    Atrocities committed must be investigated - UK

    There was no advanced warning of these arrest warrants so we are still gathering plenty of reaction to the news.
    This includes UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, who welcomed the steps taken by the ICC "to hold those at the top of the Russian regime" to account.
    "Work must continue to investigate the atrocities committed," he tweeted.
    Also, some thoughts from the European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who described the ICC's decision as "just the start".
    "This is an important decision of international justice and for the people of Ukraine," he added.
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    • Post n°9

    Ukraine Flag Re: ICC Arrest warrants issued for Putin and his children's rights commissioner

    Post by Kitkat Fri 17 Mar 2023, 17:45

    Ukraine’s presidential adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, says “the world has changed” after the international criminal court issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin for the “unlawful deportation” of Ukrainian children.

    The Guardian
    The ICC’s decision is “the beginning of [Russia’s] end in its current form on the world stage,” Podolyak writes on Twitter, adding:
    Quotes sign: Just wait.
    https://twitter.com/Podolyak_M/status/1636756539817209856?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1636756539817209856%7Ctwgr%5E658a5a2f1e42c1c360ae7bbe197e8c49cb336e2a%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2Flive%2F2023%2Fmar%2F17%2Frussia-ukraine-war-live-polands-decision-to-send-warplanes-puts-pressure-on-kyivs-allies%3FfilterKeyEvents%3Dfalsepage%3Dwith3Ablock-641492438f08b754715cfdb2



    Putin's 'travel options have become extremely limited'

    Luke Harding - The Guardian
    Sources at the international criminal court said they thought it was now “very unlikely” that Vladimir Putin would travel to any country currently supporting Ukraine. If he did so he risked arrest, they pointed out.
    They said it was possible Putin would still fly to China which is not a signatory to the Rome statute, the treaty which obliges governments to enforce ICC warrants.
    “The Russian president’s travel options have become extremely limited,” a source said.


    Estonia’s prime minister, Kaja Kallas, writes that the ICC’s decision is a “step closer to judgment day”.

    The court’s arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin sends outs a “historic signal: all atrocities against Ukraine stem from criminal policy of Russian leaders”, Kallas tweeted.
    She added:
    Quotes sign: Reminder that no-one is immune, not even heads of state. Russian regime will be held accountable.
    https://twitter.com/kajakallas/status/1636766176112984065?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1636766176112984065%7Ctwgr%5E4c4508672bbade88e0fd2495102200e621615a79%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2Flive%2F2023%2Fmar%2F17%2Frussia-ukraine-war-live-polands-decision-to-send-warplanes-puts-pressure-on-kyivs-allies%3FfilterKeyEvents%3Dfalse
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    • Post n°10

    Ukraine Flag Re: ICC Arrest warrants issued for Putin and his children's rights commissioner

    Post by Kitkat Fri 17 Mar 2023, 19:20

    The international criminal court (ICC) decision to issue an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin is a “wake-up call to others committing abuses or covering them up”, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said.

    HRW’s associate international justice director, Balkees Jarrah, said in a statement: 
    Quotes sign: This is a big day for the many victims of crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine since 2014. With these arrest warrants, the ICC has made Putin a wanted man and taken its first step to end the impunity that has emboldened perpetrators in Russia’s war against Ukraine for far too long.
    The warrants for Putin and his children’s commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, “send a clear message that giving orders to commit or tolerating serious crimes against civilians may lead to a prison cell in The Hague”, the statement continues.


    Hundreds of Ukrainian children taken from orphanages to Russia

    Karim Khan, chief prosecutor at the international criminal court, in The Hague, said hundreds of Ukrainian children had been taken from orphanages and children’s homes to Russia.
    He added:
    Quotes sign: Many of these children, we allege, have since been given up for adoption in the Russian Federation.
    Khan opened an investigation into possible war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Ukraine a year ago.
    Ukraine has said more than 16,000 children had been illegally transferred to Russia or Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine.
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