Arrest of Former Russian Defense Minister: The International Criminal Court (ICC) has ordered the arrest of the former Russian defense minister and the country’s military chief for attacking civilians in Ukraine.
At least three judges at the Hague-based court said on Tuesday that there was good reason to think the men were behind “missile strikes carried out by the Russian armed forces against the Ukrainian electric infrastructure” from October 10, 2022, to at least March 9, 2023.
The ICC charged General Valery Gerasimov and Sergei Shoigu, who used to be Defense Ministers, with war crimes and acts against humanity that hurt people.
According to Aljazeera, the court said, “During this time-frame, the Russian armed forces carried out a large number of strikes against numerous electric power plants and sub-stations in multiple locations in Ukraine.”
“There are reasonable grounds to believe that the alleged strikes were directed against civilian objects,” the judges concluded, according to the statement.
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“The expected incidental civilian harm and damage would have been excessive to the anticipated military advantage for those installations that may have qualified as military objectives at the relevant time,” the statement continued.
Russia has consistently denied targeting civilians or civilian infrastructure and asserted that Ukraine’s energy infrastructure is a valid military target.
Putin’s warrant
In addition, the court last year issued an arrest order for Russian President Vladimir Putin, alleging that he was directly responsible for the kidnappings of Ukrainian children.
Two senior Russian military officers were the subject of arrest warrants issued by the court in March of this year on allegations that they had attacked civilian infrastructure in Ukraine “under a state policy.”
Step Vassen of Al Jazeera, reporting from Amsterdam, said the court’s declaration came as a surprise because there had been no prior indication that the disputed arrest warrants had been requested.
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“This implies that every nation where they [the two Russian officials] intend to visit and have signed the Rome Statute will need to apprehend them and transfer them to The Hague,” she stated, emphasizing that the officials would steer clear of nations that are signatories to the agreement.
Russia refuses to turn over suspects, is not a member of the court, and does not acknowledge its jurisdiction.
In a shuffle of the government in May, just before he started his fifth term as president, Putin took Shoigu’s position as defense minister. Shoigu was named secretary of Russia’s Security Council by him.
