International Criminal Court responds to Russian threats over Putin's arrest warrant

The ICC press service reports.

The Presidium of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute responded to threats against the ICC, as well as measures announced against its prosecutor and judges involved in issuing arrest warrants for Putin and Russian Children's Rights Ombudsman Lvova-Belova.

"The Presidency of the Assembly regrets these attempts to hinder international efforts to ensure accountability for acts that are prohibited under general international law," the statement said.

It is emphasized that the ICC, its elected officials and staff have the strong support of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute.

"We reaffirm its full confidence in the Court as an independent, impartial judicial institution and reiterate our strong commitment to uphold and defend the principles and values enshrined in the Rome Statute and to preserve its integrity. The ICC embodies our collective commitment to fight impunity for the gravest international crimes. As an institution of last resort, the Court is complementary to national jurisdictions. We call on all States to respect its judicial and prosecutorial independence," the Presidency said.

It should be noted that the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute is the governing supervisory and legislative body of the ICC. It is composed of representatives of countries that have ratified or acceded to the document.

As reported, Russia's Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case against the prosecutor and three ICC judges who issued the arrest warrants for Putin and Lvova-Belova. These are Prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan and judges Tomoko Akane, Rosario Salvatore Aitala and Sergio Gerardo Ugalde.

• On March 17, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin and Russian Children's Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova in the case of deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia.

• The Kremlin was unprepared for the ICC's arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and does not understand how to protect him during his travels abroad.