>> Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Moscow – The Upper Chamber of the Russian Parliament approved a law to introduce criminal responsibility for providing cooperation to the International Criminal Court in The Hague (ICC) and other international institutions. The website of the Radio Free Europe station informed about it. In March, the Hague Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvovova-Bělovová due to the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia.
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The announcement of Putin's arrest warrant angered Moscow, although Russian diplomacy tried to play down the gravity of the move by saying that “the decision has no significance” given that Russia has no obligations to the ICC. In practice, however, the arrest warrant means that about 120 states that fall under the jurisdiction of the ICC have the obligation to arrest Putin if he were to move on their territory.
The draft law introduces criminal liability for cooperation in the implementation of decisions of international institutions, of which Russia is not a member. The law foresees punishment in the form of a fine from 300,000 to one million rubles (from 78,000 to 260,000 crowns) or imprisonment for up to five years.
The lower house of the Russian parliament approved the proposal last week.
