Putin could stand trial for war crimes in Ukraine, says prosecutor who issued arrest warrant

Even as Moscow fumes over the arrest warrant issued against Vladimir Putin for war crimes in Ukraine, an International Criminal Court lawyer has said.

The Russian president could stand trial for his suspected involvement in abducting Ukrainian children.

The Hague-based ICC announced Friday that it put out warrants of arrest for Putin and 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 they were forcibly deported.

Moscow scoffed at the orders, calling the warrant “null and void” and “having no meaning” for Russia, as it is not a party to the ICC. So it was unclear if or how Putin could ever end up in the dock.

However, ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan said “there are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Putin bears individual criminal responsibility” for the child abductions and can be put on trial.

Khan pointed to historic trials of Nazi war criminals, former Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milosevic, and former Liberian leader and convicted warlord Charles Taylor, among others.

“All of them were mighty, powerful individuals and yet they found themselves in courtrooms,” Khan told CNN.

ARREST WARRANT FOR PUTIN JUSTIFIED: BIDEN
US President Joe Biden welcomed the news, saying Vladimir Putin has clearly committed war crimes and the ICC’s decision to issue an arrest warrant for him was justified.

“He’s [Putin] clearly committed war crimes,” Biden told reporters. “I think it’s justified… But the question is – it [ICC] is not recognised internationally by us either. But I think it makes a very strong point.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has long accused Russia of committing war crimes in Ukraine, called it a “historic decision, from which historic responsibility will begin”.

More than 16,000 Ukrainian children have been deported to Russia since the February 24, 2022 invasion, according to Kyiv, with many allegedly placed in institutions and foster homes.

WILL PUTIN BE ARRESTED?
Forced deportation of populations is recognised as a crime under the Rome statute that established the court. Russia was a signatory to the Rome statute, but withdrew in 2016, saying it did not recognise the jurisdiction of the court, reported The Guardian.

Although Ukraine is itself not a signatory to the court in The Hague, it granted the ICC jurisdiction to investigate war crimes committed on its territory.

ICC president Piotr Hofmanski said in a video statement that while the court issued the warrants, it will be up to the international community to enforce them. The ICC has no police force of its own to enforce warrants.

This means the court’s 123 member states must detain Putin and hand him over for trial if he sets foot on their territory.