The United States Ambassador for Global Criminal Justice, Beth Van Schaack. Said that it was impossible for Russian President Vladimir Putin to be arrest while still in office and leading the Kremlin. Schaack revealed this after talking about the order for Putin’s arrest issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) since last March. The US State Department representative doubted that Putin could be arrested while he was still holding the highest office. According to him, as president, Putin has immunity that can protect him from prosecution. the head of state,” Shaack said, as quoted by Ukrainska Pravda, Tuesday (15/8).
However view does not mean that an investigation into Putin cannot be carrier out because of this. According to him, the investigation could still start at the same time by preparing charges against Putin and looking for other people in the chain of command. When asked whether the ICC’s efforts to arrest Putin amidst the president’s impunity would yield commensurate results, Shaack agreed. He emphasized that many high ranking official in Russia were guilty and could be prosecute at least through special charge.
They hold senior management positions, make decisions, and take direct action which is Russian aggression,” he said. “These people must be held accountable for the crime of aggression, for all the wars and atrocities. On that occasion, Shaack also stressed that Ukraine needed to continue investigating Putin while he was still in power. Ukraine, in his opinion, must be ready for swift action if a political transformation begins in Russia and Putin loses his position and immunity.
Since the ICC issued an arrest warrant against Russia’s number one person last March. Not a single member state has succeeded in arresting Putin.
The ICC ordered member states to arrest and hand over Putin if he is in their respective countries for alleged war crimes in Ukraine. All ICC member states are to comply with this order. Nevertheless, many parties doubt this because Russia, for one, is not a member of the ICC. In addition it is highly unlikely that Putin will travel to a country. That is a to the Rome Statue after the warrant is release.
Read More : US: Impossible to Arrest Putin while Still President of Russia
