The International Criminal Court (ICC) this Wednesday condemned “threats” being issued from Russia to members of its team after it issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin for the war crime of deporting Ukrainian children.
The presidency of the Assembly of States Parties to the ICC, the legislative body that unites its 123 members, revealed that there were “threats” against the court and “measures announced against the prosecutor and judges involved in issuing arrest warrants in connection with the situation in Ukraine”.
Russia on Monday announced the opening of a criminal investigation against the prosecutor and three judges of the ICC, after that court issued an arrest warrant for Putin and his commissioner for the rights of the child, Maria Lvova-Belova.
According to the Dutch press, former Russian President Dimitry Medvedev, the current “number two” in the Russian Security Council and inclined to make controversial statements, advised on the same day on the digital platform Telegram, the ICC judges to “look at close to the heaven”, referring to the Russian clout.
In a statement this Wednesday, the ICC’s legislative body “deplored these attempts to obstruct international efforts aimed at ensuring accountability for acts prohibited by general international law” and “reaffirmed its full confidence in the court “.
ICC Attorney General Karim Khan, who has spent more than a year investigating possible war crimes or crimes against humanity during the Russian offensive in Ukraine, now entering its second year, said the number of suspected deportations of Ukrainian children to Russia has risen. or areas it controls “reach into the thousands”.
More than 16,000 Ukrainian children have been deported to Russia since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, many of whom have been placed in institutions and foster homes.
Source: DN
