Shoigu and Gerasimov Wanted by ICC; ECHR Rules Against Russia in Crimea

The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and senior Russian General Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff. This action is taken in response to alleged war crimes committed in Ukraine.

In March 2023, the Hague-based court also issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin, accusing him of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine.

The Kremlin has dismissed these warrants as senseless. It is worth noting that the US, China, and Russia are not members of the International Criminal Court.

Meanwhile, The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has condemned Russia for numerous violations of the European Convention on Human Rights in Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014. The 2020 lawsuit detailed systematic persecution by Russian authorities against Ukrainians based on their citizenship, political views, and pro-Ukrainian activities. The violations included suppressing the use of the Ukrainian language in schools, conducting arbitrary searches, unregistered detentions of Ukrainian military personnel, ethnic Tatars, and journalists, as well as the disappearance of individuals without proper investigations. Additionally, organizers and participants of demonstrations faced bans and prosecution.