War re Ukraine: Thread

[grarpamp]

Putin the Invading Murderer gets sent up to the Hague...


Arrest Warrant Issued For President Putin By Hague-Based ICC

https://twitter.com/IntlCrimCourt/status/1636771769313902592
https://www.axios.com/2023/03/17/icc-war-crimes-cases-russia-ukraine
https://apnews.com/article/icc-putin-war-crimes-ukraine-9857eb68d827340394960eccf0589253
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/08/us/politics/pentagon-war-crimes-hague.html

As part of the West's attempt to ramp up the pressure on President
Vladimir Putin, the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday
issued an arrest warrant for the Russian leader. It's a largely
symbolic step, given detaining Putin remains entirely unenforceable,
but is enough to create a firestorm of hyped and breathless headlines.

Another arrest warrant for a top official was announced simultaneously
for Russia's commissioner for children’s rights Maria Alekseyevna
Lvova-Belova. The warrants for both Putin and Lvova-Belova allege
severe human rights violations against children, and mark the first
formal international charges brought by the ICC against Moscow.
Street scene in Barcelona, via AFP

The ICC said in a statement that Putin "is allegedly responsible for
the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and
that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas
of Ukraine to the Russian Federation."

According to Axios, it stems from allegations that "Russia
systematically relocated at least 6,000 children from Ukraine to
Russia since the start of the war" - based on findings by a group
called Conflict Observatory and their report published in February.

"Many of the children, who were taken to camps or other facilities,
engaged in pro-Russia reeducation efforts, per the report," Axios
details. "Some of the facilities were used for foster care or adoption
in Russia and Crimea."

But it remains that the warrants are largely merely symbolic. "The ICC
is doing its part of work as a court of law,” ICC court president
Piotr Hofmanski said. “The judges issued arrest warrants. The
execution depends on international cooperation."

Given the ICC doesn't have a police force, any actual attempt to
detain Putin would be the decision of a government, so needless to say
it could not possibly be enforced. However, it does complicate Putin's
ability to travel to European or other capitals which cooperate with
the ICC. This also means it could hinder peace efforts in the scenario
Putin might choose to personally engage in negotiations or diplomacy
in a European city.

    Statement by Prosecutor #KarimAAKhanKC on the issuance of arrest
warrants against President Vladimir Putin and Ms Maria Lvova-Belova
    Read more ⤵️ https://t.co/qGNPQrBV5O #Ukraine
    — Int'l Criminal Court (@IntlCrimCourt) March 17, 2023

The Kremlin responded quickly to the ICC warrants, with Dmitry Peskov
stressing that Russia doesn’t recognize the international court,
calling its decisions "legally void." He blasted the attempt to go
after the recognized head of state of Russia as "outrageous and
unacceptable."

Recent debate at the Hague-based ICC ahead of Friday's announcement
certainly put Washington in an awkward position, with Axios pointing
out that "The New York Times reported earlier this month that the
Pentagon was blocking the Biden administration from sharing U.S.
intelligence with the ICC about Russian war crimes in Ukraine for fear
that it could set a precedent for prosecuting Americans."