International Criminal Court prosecutor placed on Russia’s wanted list

International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan has been placed on Russia’s wanted list, according to a notice issued by the Russian Interior Ministry, two months after the ICC issued an arrest warrant against Vladimir Putin. “Date of birth: 30 March 1970. Place of birth: Edinburgh, Scotland (…) Wanted under section of the Criminal Code”indicates this note, without specifying the nature of the infringement.

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Vladimir Putin is accused by the ICC, based in The Hague, in the Netherlands, of war crimes for the “illegal deportation” of thousands of Ukrainian children in the context of the conflict between Moscow and Kiev. Charges rejected by Russia.

Moscow does not recognize the ICC

While Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky called the ICC decision a‘”historical” and US President Joe Biden of “justified”, Moscow derided her as being “void”because Russia is not a member of the ICC and therefore does not recognize the jurisdiction of this court, according to the Kremlin.

A few days after the announcement, in mid-March, of the mandate issued by the International Criminal Court, Moscow had for its part opened a criminal investigation against Karim Khan and three judges of the ICC. According to this Russian investigation, Karim Khan is accused of having “initiated criminal proceedings against a notoriously innocent person” and of “preparing an attack on a representative of a foreign state”.