International Criminal Court prosecutor says prospects for Putin's detention might be good

Karim Khan, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), has discussed the prospects of Russian leader Vladimir Putin facing trial, referencing the tribunal for the former Yugoslavia: "There are examples showing that if someone acts as they please, using power without higher accountability, their room for manoeuvre shrinks."

Source: Khan in an interview with BBC News Russian

Details: Khan said the Ukrainian side had requested an investigation into Russia’s actions as early as 2021, when he met with Ukraine's prosecutor general. 

However, Khan explained that at that time the ICC lacked the resources and he himself had many other responsibilities, having just assumed office shortly before his trip to Ukraine. In addition, Khan did not believe Putin would launch a full-scale war.

Quote: "But when they did, I decided it was absolutely clear that we had to begin an investigation. I visited the scenes. When you hear the stories, see the destruction and listen to testimonies, including statements from Vladimir Putin and [Maria] Lvova-Belova [Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights], it wasn’t difficult to apply the full force of the law.

It is so sad. Russia was the Security Council’s permanent member, a great country with literature, music, one of the founding countries of the UN, which played a vital role in defeating fascism. So it brought me no joy; it was a sad day when an arrest warrant for the president of a country, an important Security Council member, was issued."

Details: Earlier this week, Putin visited Mongolia, where he should have been arrested but was instead met with red-carpet treatment.

Karim Khan assured that Mongolia would have to explain why it ignored the ICC’s arrest warrant, "Negotiations are ongoing at court level. The judges can make recommendations in the case of non-cooperation, but I don’t want to predict anything, as this matter is now between the judges and the government of Mongolia".

Answering a question as to whether he believed Putin would ever end up in the dock in The Hague, Khan referenced the example of the former Yugoslavia, "People laughed when the tribunal for the former Yugoslavia sought arrest warrants for [Former Republika Srpska' President Radovan] Karadžić and [Ratko] Mladić [Colonel General who led the Army of Republika Srpska during the Yugoslav Wars], let alone [former Serbian President Slobodan] Milošević. When the Special Court for Sierra Leone issued a warrant for the former president [of Liberia], Charles Taylor, history showed that these people, once wielding great power in their country and region, ultimately ended up in the dock. [..] There are examples showing that if someone acts as they please, using power without higher accountability, their room for manoeuvre shrinks."

Background:

• The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Putin and Russia’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Lvova-Belova in March 2023. They are suspected of committing war crimes during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
• Moscow has called the ICC’s decision to issue an arrest warrant for Putin legally null and void.
• Russia’s Investigative Committee, which opened a criminal case against the ICC prosecutor and judges, claimed that Putin's prosecution was "deliberately unlawful".
• Russia does not recognise the ICC’s jurisdiction. However, Putin has had to cancel international trips to countries that have signed the Rome Statute and are obliged to enforce ICC orders. In particular, he skipped the BRICS summit in South Africa in July 2023, though the country had hinted it would not arrest him.
• As of now, the highest-ranking individuals sought by the ICC are Vladimir Putin, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.

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