Arrest warrant for Putin, reacts the president of the International Criminal Court

The President of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Piotr Hofmanski, has stated that the arrest warrant issued for Russian President Vladimir Putin is a very important signal to the world. An arrest warrant was also issued for Russian Children's Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova.

Arrest warrants are not a magic wand. But we believe in the preventive effect of arrest warrants issued in our proceedings and we believe that it is a very important signal to the world that we are doing our job, that the victims are not left alone, not forgotten and we are just doing what is expected', Hofmanski said, comparing the arrest warrant for Putin to some kind of sanction for the Russian leader.

"There are 123 countries - two-thirds of the world's countries - in which he will not be safe," he said.

Asked if the ICC is requiring signatory countries to arrest Putin if he travels to them, Hofmanski referred to the ICC statute, saying all state parties have a legal obligation to cooperate fully with the court, meaning they are bound to execute the arrest, order issued by the court, writes CNN. 

He also said that these orders are not the end of the game, adding that the case may expand and also cover other atrocities allegedly committed on the territory of Ukraine. Hofmanski said the content of the arrest warrants was secret, but the ICC had agreed to release information about the existence of the warrants and alleged crimes committed by Putin and Lvova-Belova.

Note : The ICC does not conduct trials in absentia, so Putin will either have to be extradited from Russia or arrested outside of Russia.