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The court in The Hague want Putin arrested for allegedly being responsible for the war crime by unlawfully deporting and transporting children from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia.
The crimes have been committed “at least from 24 February 2022,” the International Criminal Court (ICC) writes in a press release late Friday.
In the same warrant, the ICC requests the arrest of Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, Russia’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights. She is also wanted under allegations of unlawful deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia.
In a video statement, ICC president Piotr Hofmanski, said “children enjoy special protection under the Geneva Convention.”
He continued: “This is an important moment in the process of justice for the ICC.” … “There are credible allegation against these persons for the alleged crimes.”
“The ICC is doing its part of work, as a court of law. The judges issued arrest warrants, the execution depends on international cooperation,” Hofmanski underlined.
From Moscow, foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova wrote on her Telegram Channel that the decision by the ICC have no meaning for Russia, including from a legal point of view.
The Barents Observer tried to get a comment from Murmansk Governor Andrey Chibis, but he didn’t answer the Norwegian phone number calling his mobile on Friday evening.
Last December, the European Union sanctioned Chibis for his support to the military onslaught on Ukraine. The EU said Chibis was “involved in Russia’s brutal and deliberate missile strikes against civilians, in the kidnapping of Ukrainian children to Russia….”
Norway soon after joined the EU sanctions against the Murmansk Governor.
“The ones that have committed war crimes and other abuses must be put to justice,” Norway’s Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt said.
Amid international condemnation, Governor Andrei Chibis greets kids deported from occupied Ukrainian territories. Photo: screenshot from VK video
