Putin faces a Nazi Nuremberg-style judgment day with a life sentence after arrest warrant is issued
Legal experts say VLADIMIR Putin is facing a Nazi-like Nuremberg-style day of judgment after his arrest warrant was issued for alleged war crimes.
despot was prosecuted by the International Criminal Court and may grab and drag to the dock if he steps out of his homeland.
4
4
Some of the 123 countries that are part of the court are now obliged to hand him over.
The ICC has charged Putin and “illegal deportation” of children from Ukraine – a War Crimes under the Geneva Convention.
The court also issued an arrest warrant Maria Lvova-BelovaRussia’s commissioner in charge of children’s rights, on similar charges against Putin.
Tests have taken place of Nazi leaders in the city if Nuremberg follows Second World War laid the foundation for the ICC, based in The Hague, Netherlands.
In Nuremberg, Adolf Hitler’s henchmen face charges of crimes against peace, war crimes and crimes against humanity, for launching war and Holocaust.
Many have been hanged, but the maximum sentence the ICC can impose is life in prison.
Dr Miracle Chinwenmeri Uche, from the University of Exeter Law School, told The Sun Online: “The Nuremberg trials come to mind at a time like this.”
She said it was “a reminder that alleged perpetrators holding positions of power are not exempt from accountability”.
“The relevance of the Nuremberg trials to the current Ukraine situation before the ICC as it concerns Putin can be considered from two aspects.
“First, the foundation of the work carried out by the ICC and other international criminal courts can be traced back to the Nuremberg trials.
“Second, regarding the principle of individual criminal responsibility – a very important concept that arose from the Nuremberg trials.
“Therefore, Mr. Putin and other alleged perpetrators could be held personally responsible for crimes committed in the context of war under the law no matter how long this may last.
“Therefore, one can foresee similar trials in so far as it relates to established international criminal law in The Hague or elsewhere in the world.”
Regime leaders and key figures dragged before the international court
Vladimir Putin is not the first dictator to be charged with war crimes by an international court.
- Slobodan Milosevic – former president of Serbia
The International Criminal Court for Yogoslavia has charged Milošević with genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo.
He was the first incumbent head of state to be charged with war crimes but died in custody before being tried.
- Ratko Mladic – former commander of the Serbian army
Mladic – dubbed the “Butcher of Bosnia” – was convicted of genocide and imprisoned for life by the International Criminal Court for the former Yugoslavia in 2017.
He was blamed for the worst crimes in Europe since World War II during the country’s 1990s conflict.
He faces 11 charges including genocide and crimes against humanity.
The United Nations Court convicted him of 10 counts including genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, acquitting him of genocide in the cities.
- Charles Taylor – former president of Liberia
Taylor is charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity for participating in the Sierra Leone Civil War from 1991 to 2002.
On April 26, 2012, Taylor was found guilty on all 11 counts of being responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by insurgents during the war.
He was sentenced to 50 years in prison.
Dr Uche explained that arresting Putin in the first place seems a bit difficult to explain because the courts do not have the power to enforce arrest warrants, which is up to individual countries.
“This is not an easy task with regard to the cases that arise as a result of countries presenting the circumstances themselves to the ICC.
“It’s even more difficult to deal with situations where the alleged perpetrator is the sitting president.”
But she added: “The possibility of cooperation in the enforcement of arrest warrants for Mr. Putin and Ms. Lvova-Belova cannot be ruled out.”
The ICC has pointed out that all countries that recognize the court are obliged to hand over Putin on their territory.
ICC President Judge Piotr Hofmanski said: “All member states have a legal obligation to fully cooperate with the courts, which means they are obliged to carry out the arrest warrants issued by the courts. onion.
“And that’s really one of the most important effects of an arrest warrant, which is a kind of punishment, because the person can’t leave the country.
“There are 123 states, two-thirds of the states in the world where he won’t be saved.”
Ukraine’s Prosecutor General, Andriy Kostin, called on countries to act.
“The world has received a signal that the Russian regime is criminal and that its leader and accomplices will be brought to justice,” he said.
“This means that Putin must be arrested outside Russia and put on trial.
“And world leaders will think twice before shaking hands or sitting down at the negotiating table with him.”
Judgment of the International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has so far convicted four individuals of war crimes. They are:
- Thomas Lubanga Dyilo – Democratic Republic of the Congo
Lubanga was convicted in 2012 of recruiting child soldiers under the age of 15 and using them to actively participate in hostilities in the Ituri region of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
He was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
- Germain Katanga – Democratic Republic of the Congo
Katanga was convicted in 2014 of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in an attack on a village in the Ituri region of the DRC in 2003 that left more than 200 people dead.
He was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
- Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi – Mali
Al Mahdi was convicted in 2016 of war crimes for his role in destroying cultural heritage sites in Timbuktu, Mali, during the armed conflict in the country in 2012 and 2013.
He was sentenced to seven years in prison.
- Bosco Ntaganda – Democratic Republic of the Congo
Ntaganda was convicted in 2019 of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role as a military commander in the eastern DRC between 2002 and 2003.
He was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
It is worth noting that the ICC has opened investigations into other cases of war crimes and is currently conducting ongoing trials against a number of other individuals.
Almost immediately after Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine, attention began to turn to how he might face justice for launching his barbaric war.
ONE model for what an indictment may look like it was published by the legal advocacy group Open Society Justice Initiative.
The last surviving prosecutor Ben Ferencz from Nuremberg supported the idea.
“I know firsthand the level of effort required to bring war criminals to trial,” he wrote at the time.
“I put 22 Nazi officers in position for their role in the cold-blooded killing of more than a million men, women, and children in towns and villages across Eastern Europe.
“Russia’s unprovoked military attack on Ukraine is the clearest and most egregious example of atrocities in decades.
“It is possible to build a solid evidence against President Vladimir Putin and other senior Russian officials.”
4
4
