Arrest warrants for two Russian officials for war crimes and crimes against humanity
The International Criminal Court (ICC) announced Tuesday arrest warrants for two Russian officials for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
They are former Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov for war crimes and crimes against humanity between October 2022 and March 2023 during the invasion of Ukraine.
The court said in a statement that the warrants were issued against the two Russian officials for war crimes and crimes against humanity as the judges found that there were reasonable grounds to believe that the men are responsible for “missile attacks carried out by the Russian armed forces against Ukraine’s power infrastructure” from October 10, 2022 to at least March 9, 2023.
“During this period, Russian armed forces carried out a large number of attacks against numerous electric power plants and substations at multiple locations in Ukraine,” the court added.
On the arrest of the two Russian officials for war crimes and crimes against humanity there is no immediate likelihood that any of the suspects will be arrested.
It should be recalled that Russia is not a member of the global tribunal, does not recognize its jurisdiction and refuses to hand over suspects.
Arrest warrants for two Russian officials for war crimes and crimes against humanity
Last year, the court also issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of personal responsibility for the abductions of Ukrainian children.
Putin replaced Shoigu as defense minister in a cabinet reshuffle in May as he was beginning his fifth term as president.
He appointed Shoigu secretary of Russia’s Security Council, the Kremlin said.
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The ICC Pre-Trial Chamber approved the warrants against the two Russian officials for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
In this regard, it holds both senior Russian government officials responsible for war crimes for “directing attacks on civilian targets and causing excessive collateral damage to civilians and civilian objects,” as well as for a crime against humanity for “inhumane acts” defined in the Rome Statute.
ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan requested the Chamber to approve these arrest warrants, in which he accuses Shoigu and Gerasimov of being allegedly “criminally responsible” for committing these criminal acts, ordering their commission and/or failing to exercise adequate control over the forces under their command to prevent the commission of these crimes.
“There are reasonable grounds to believe that the two suspects are responsible for missile attacks carried out by Russian armed forces against Ukrainian electrical infrastructure from at least October 10, 2022 until at least March 9, 2023″, the three judges comprising the Pre-Trial Chamber noted.
During that period, Russian armed forces carried out “a large number of attacks against numerous power plants and substations in multiple locations” in Ukraine.
The Chamber also sees “reasonable grounds” to believe that “the alleged attacks were directed against civilian objects.”
Last March, two Russian servicemen, Russian Armed Forces Lieutenant General Sergey Kobylash, and Russian Navy Admiral Viktor Sokolov, were ordered arrested.
