Russia opens criminal case against ICC prosecutor and judges

The Russian Investigative Committee opened a criminal case against International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan and judges Tomoko Akane, Rosario Salvatore Aytala and Sergio Gerardo Ugalde Godinez for issuing a warrant for the "arrest" of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the press service of the department said.

The criminal prosecution is obviously illegal as there are no grounds for criminal liability in the case, representatives for the Russian Investigative Committee said. The decision of the ICC to arrest the Commissioner for Children's Rights under the President of the Russian Federation is illegal as well, the report says.

Heads of state enjoy absolute immunity from jurisdiction of foreign states. This provision is enshrined in the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Internationally Protected Persons, the department said.

The prosecutor and the judges of the ICC brought a knowingly innocent person to criminal responsibility, prepared to attack a representative of a foreign state that enjoys international protection in order to complicate international relations. Such actions of the International Criminal Court constitute elements of offence, the Russian Investigative Committee noted.

On March 17, the ICC issued warrants for the "arrest" of Vladimir Putin and Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova. The decision was made against the backdrop of the crisis in Ukraine. The Kremlin noted they paid no mind to such statements.