Russia Files Criminal Lawsuit Against ICC That Issued Arrest Warrant for Putin

Russia has initiated criminal proceedings against judges and prosecutors of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in connection with the issuance of an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin, according to reports by TASS and AFP on the 20th (local time).

The Russian Federal Investigative Committee stated in a press release that day, "Criminal proceedings have been initiated against ICC Prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan, ICC Judges Tomoko Akane, Rosario Salvatore Aitala, and Sergio Ugalde Godinez."

The Federal Investigative Committee pointed out that the ICC, which Russia has not joined, prosecuting Russian citizens is illegal and lacks grounds for prosecution.

In particular, it argued that heads of state are fully immune under international treaties granting diplomatic immunity, and that the ICC made an illegal decision against President Putin.

President Putin. [Photo by Yonhap News]

Headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands, the ICC is a permanent court established under the 1998 Rome Statute to handle war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity, and other serious offenses.

On the 17th, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for President Putin, holding him responsible for war crimes involving the illegal transfer of children from occupied territories in Ukraine. Mariya Lvova-Belova, the Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights, was also issued an arrest warrant on the same charges.

This is the third time an ICC arrest warrant has been issued for a head of state, following former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

However, Russia withdrew from the ICC in 2016 and maintains the position that citizens of non-member states cannot be subject to ICC jurisdiction.

On the 19th, the Kremlin stated, "Any decision by the ICC is considered legally invalid. We do not recognize the ICC itself," and President Putin visited Mariupol in southern Ukraine for the first time since the invasion on the day after the warrant was issued, the 18th.

Mariupol is the location where the ICC cited crimes of child abduction and forced transfer in the warrant against President Putin, and it is also the site of a tragedy in March last year where at least 600 civilians died due to Russian bombings.