The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia has declared the leadership of the International Criminal Court (ICC) wanted.
Mediazona writes about this.
The head of the International Criminal Court Piotr Hofmanskyi, the first vice president Luz Del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza, and judge Bertram Schmitt are wanted. The cards state that they are wanted under an article of the Criminal Code of Russia, but under which article it is not specified.
- Prior to that, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs informed that the ICC judges Tomoko Akane and Rosario Salvatore Aitala were wanted. Together with another judge Sergio Gerardo Ugalde Godinez, they issued an arrest warrant for Putin and the childrenʼs ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova. Prosecutor Karim Khan of the International Criminal Court was also declared wanted.
- In March of this year, the Investigative Committee of Russia opened criminal cases against him and three judges of the International Criminal Court — Tomoko Akane, Rosario Salvatore Aytala and Sergio Gerardo Ugalde Godinez — for "bringing a knowingly innocent person to criminal responsibility and preparing for an attack on a representative of a foreign state."
- On March 17, 2023, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for the President of Russia Vladimir Putin and the Russian Presidentʼs Commissioner for Childrenʼs Rights Maria Lvova-Belova. They are accused of directing the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia, which is a war crime. Children were taken out without the permission of relatives and Ukraine, in Russia they were granted citizenship. For this purpose, Putin passed a number of decrees that simplified these procedures, and Lvova-Belova carried out his instructions. Together with their parents, up to 150 000 children could be deported to Russia. This is the fifth time in its history that the International Court of Justice has issued such a warrant to a sitting president.
- 123 countries that have ratified the Rome Statute are now required to arrest Putin. These are all European countries, all South American countries, including some members of BRICS — an organization in which Russia is a member. Also, members of the ISS include Japan, Australia and Canada, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Mongolia and many other countries.