"As history has shown": the ICC prosecutor assessed whether Putin could end up in the dock in The Hague

Karim Khan, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), discussed the prospects of bringing Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to justice and gave historical examples of similar cases. He also noted that Mongolia will have to explain the ignoring of the ICC warrant during Putin's visit to the country on September 2.

Karim Khan said this in an interview with the BBC. He expressed confidence that the Kremlin dictator would sooner or later be arrested.

The prosecutor said that the Ukrainian side had asked him to launch an investigation against Russia back in 2021 during a meeting with the Prosecutor General of Ukraine. At the time, Khan noted that he did not have enough resources and had many other responsibilities, as he had recently taken up the position of ICC prosecutor. In addition, he did not believe that Putin would decide to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

"But when they did, I decided that everything was quite obvious and we had to start an investigation. I was at the scene, and when you hear the stories, the testimonies, see the destruction, hear the statements of different people, including those of Vladimir Putin and Lvova-Belova, it was easy to apply the full force of the law," Khan said.

Referring to Putin's visit to Mongolia on September 2, he said that Ulaanbaatar should explain why the ICC warrant was ignored and why Putin was not arrested.

"The negotiation process at the court level is ongoing. The judges can give their recommendations if there is a lack of cooperation, but I don't want to predict anything because this issue is now being resolved between the judges and the Mongolian government," he said.

Khan was also asked whether he believes that Putin will one day stand trial in The Hague. The ICC prosecutor recalled the example of Yugoslavia, noting that at first people laughed when the tribunal demanded arrest warrants for Radovan Karadzic, Ratko Mladic, and Slobodan Milosevic.

"As history has shown, these people, who had great power in their country and region in the past, ended up in the dock. Some examples show that if someone does what he wants, using power not limited by higher responsibility, his room for maneuver is narrowing," Karim Khan noted.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said that Mongolia, which did not comply with the ICC warrant for the arrest of Russian dictator Putin, dealt a heavy blow to the international justice system. The country allowed the criminal to escape justice, thus sharing responsibility for his war crimes against Ukraine.

The European Union has previously stated that it expects Mongolia to fulfill its obligations under the Putin arrest warrant. Human Rights Watch said that Ulaanbaatar should ban the dictator from entering the country or arrest him if he enters.

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