The International Criminal Court’s legislative branch expressed regret on Wednesday for “threats” made against the court regarding its war crimes arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
According to Dutch media, former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev allegedly discussed using a hypersonic weapon to attack The Hague in retaliation for the Putin warrant.
As a result of the “illegal” decision to call for Putin’s arrest in connection with the Ukraine War, Moscow announced on Monday that it had launched a criminal probe into ICC prosecutor Karim Khan and several judges.
There have reportedly been “threats against the International Criminal Court as well as measures announced against its prosecutor and judges,” according to the presidency of the Assembly of States Parties, which comprises the 123 nations that make up the ICC.
“The presidency of the assembly regrets these attempts to hinder international efforts to ensure accountability for acts that are prohibited under general international law,” it said in a statement.
The assembly also “reaffirms its unwavering support for the International Criminal Court”, it said.
The ICC on Friday announced an arrest warrant for Putin for allegedly unlawfully deporting Ukrainian children, a war crime.
The reported deportations “run into the thousands,” Khan told AFP.
The ICC claimed that it had also issued an arrest warrant for Maria Lvova-Belova, the head of Russia’s commission on children’s rights, on comparable grounds.
The instructions were rejected as “void” by Moscow.
According to Kyiv, more than 16,000 Ukrainian children have been sent back to Russia since the invasion on February 24, 2022, with many of them reportedly being put in institutions and foster homes.
