16:59, 16 November 2016

Russia recalls its signature under Rome Statute because of possibility of Vladimir Putin's arrest

South Ossetia's government center in Tskhinvali. August 2008. Photo by Luiza Orazaeva for the "Caucasian Knot"

Today, Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered to notify the UN Secretary General about the Russia's intention not to become a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which earlier approved the investigation against residents of South Ossetia and Russian soldiers and officers after the 2008 conflict.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on October 8, 2015, Fatou Bensouda, Prosecutor of The Hague Court, addressed ICC judges for permission to conduct a detailed investigation into the conflict in South Ossetia. On January 7, The Hague Court opened an investigation.

On February 1, the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) stated that the Russian Federation cannot participate in the investigation, since the country did not ratify the Rome Statute. In his interview to the "Caucasian Knot", Simon Papuashvili, a member of the human rights organization "International Partnership for Human Rights", an author of the report on the investigation into the 2008 events, said that the independent investigation could lead to the arrests of Vladimir Putin and Mikhail Saakashvili.

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has declared that the ICC "failed to satisfy expectations laid on it to become a truly independent and authoritative body of international justice."

Earlier, Fatou Bensouda has stated that the refusal of Russia or South Ossetia to cooperate with the International Criminal Court will not prevent the investigation into the crimes of 2008.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.