Moscow has issued an arrest warrant for International Criminal Court judge Aitala for "unlawful arrest of President Putin", but the effect of this decision is very limited.
"Rosario Salvatore Aitala is wanted under an article of the Criminal Code," the Russian Interior Ministry posted a notice on June 22, referring to International Criminal Court (ICC) judge Aitala.
A portrait of Judge Aitala and the inscription "Wanted" were also posted at the office of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Sviblovo district of Moscow. However, this wanted notice has very limited validity and Judge Aitala will only be arrested when he sets foot on the territory of Russia or an allied country with which Russia has an extradition agreement.
In May, the Russian Investigative Committee opened a criminal investigation into Judge Aitala on charges of illegal detention, plotting attacks on internationally protected foreign government officials, and straining international relations.
International Criminal Court Judge Rosario Salvatore Aitala. Photo: ICC
Judge Aitala on March 17 signed an arrest warrant for Russian President Putin and Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova on charges of "illegally transferring" children from Ukraine to Russia, considering this a war crime.
The Russian Investigative Committee later claimed that the ICC prosecutor and judges had deliberately broken the law by issuing arrest warrants for Mr Putin and Ms Lvova-Belova without any legal basis. The Kremlin also declared that the ICC was a "puppet of the West" and that no one dared to carry out the court's arrest warrant for President Putin.
The ICC arrest warrant theoretically requires 123 member states to arrest President Putin and transfer him to the Netherlands for trial if he sets foot on their territory. However, experts say this scenario is unlikely because not all countries comply with the court's ruling. The Russian president is also unlikely to visit countries that Moscow considers "unfriendly".
Ngoc Anh (According to TASS )
Source link
Comment (0)