ICC ISSUES ARREST WARRANTS FOR RUSSIAN MILITARY CHIEF, EX-DEFENSE MINISTER

Tue 25 June 2024:

The International Criminal Court (ICC) announced on Tuesday that arrest warrants have been issued for former Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu and General Staff Chief Valery Gerasimov.

The ICC stated that the warrants followed an investigation into alleged international crimes committed in Ukraine between October 10, 2022, and March 9, 2023. Shoygu and Gerasimov are accused of ordering attacks on civilian infrastructure, causing excessive incidental harm, and committing crimes against humanity, including inhumane acts.

“The two warrants of arrest were issued following applications filed by the Prosecution. Pre-Trial Chamber II considered that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the two suspects bear responsibility for missile strikes carried out by the Russian armed forces against the Ukrainian electric infrastructure from at least 10 October 2022 until at least 9 March 2023,” it said.

The ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber II found reasonable grounds to believe that the two suspects are responsible for missile strikes by the Russian armed forces against Ukrainian electric infrastructure during the specified period. To protect witnesses and the ongoing investigation, the details of the warrants remain classified.

The ICC emphasized that making the warrants public could help prevent further crimes, noting that similar violations of international humanitarian law appear to be ongoing.

In response, the Russian Security Council dismissed the ICC’s decision as “null and void,” arguing that the court has no jurisdiction over Russia and labeling it part of the “hybrid war of the West” against Moscow.

Meanwhile, the Russian Security Council press service said the ICC decision is “null and void” as the court lacks jurisdiction over the country and that it is part of the “hybrid war of the West” against Moscow.

“The decision of the Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court against the Secretary of the Russian Security Council, Sergey Shoygu, is null and void. This is an idle talk since the jurisdiction of the ICC does not apply to Russia, and (the decision) was made as part of the hybrid war of the West against our country,” the press service said in a statement.

Russia had signed the Rome Statute in 2000 but did not ratify it, and in 2016, President Vladimir Putin declared that Russia would not join the ICC. The Russian Foreign Ministry criticized the ICC for failing to become a truly independent body of international justice.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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