The court in Moscow arrested in absentia the judge of the International Criminal Court in The Hague Haikel Ben Mahfoud, who issued arrest warrants for the former Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Sergei Shoigu and the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Federation Valery Gerasimov.
This was reported by the Russian publication Mediazon.
A criminal case of "illegal detention" was opened against Ben Mahfoud — for this he faces four years in prison.
In the summer, Ben Mahfoud, along with two other ICC judges, Rosario Salvatore Aitala and Sergio Gerardo Ugalde Godines, issued arrest warrants for Shoigu and Gerasimov. The warrants relate to international crimes committed between October 10, 2022 and March 9, 2023. We are talking about attacks on civilian objects (in particular, on energy infrastructure) and "excessive accidental damage" to civilians and objects.
Haikel Ben Mahfoud is a lawyer from Tunisia. He became a judge of the International Court of Justice in March 2024.
- On March 17, 2023, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for the President of Russia Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, the Russian Presidentʼs Commissioner for Childrenʼs Rights. They are accused of directing the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia, which is a war crime.
- On March 5, 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for the commanders of the long-range aviation of the Russian Federation Serhiy Kobylash and the Black Sea Fleet Viktor Sokolov.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine please follow us on X.