The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of responsibility for the war crime of illegal deportation of children from Ukraine.In its first warrant involving Ukraine, the ICC on Friday called for Putin’s arrest on suspicion of unlawful deportation of children and unlawful transfer of people from the territory of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.
The ICC, which has no powers to enforce its own warrants, also issued an arrest warrant for Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, the Russian commissioner for children’s rights.
Russia, which is not a party to the court, said the move was meaningless. Moscow has repeatedly denied accusations that its forces have committed atrocities since it launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbour in February last year.
Here is everything you need to know about the case:
What is the ICC?
The ICC was established in 2002 to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression when member states are unwilling or unable to do so themselves.
The tribunal is based in The Hague, Netherlands, and leads high-profile investigations into prominent suspects.
It can prosecute crimes committed by nationals of member states or on the territory of member states by other actors. It has 123 member countries. Its budget for 2023 is about 170 million euros ($180m).
Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin outside Moscow [File: Mikhail Metzel/Sputnik/pool via Reuters]
What crime is Putin accused of?
Both Putin and Lvova-Belova are accused of being responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of people, in particular children, and their unlawful transfer from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.
The ICC said it sees reasonable grounds to believe that Putin b …
