Russia issues arrest warrant for International Criminal Court judge who authorized Shoigu and Gerasimov's arrest
Photo: Sergei Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov (Getty Images)
The Basmanny Court of Moscow has issued an arrest warrant in absentia for International Criminal Court (ICC) judge Haikel Ben Mahfoud. He had previously issued arrest warrants for Russia's former Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Valery Gerasimov, Mediazona reports.
According to reports, a criminal case has been initiated in Russia against a judge on charges of "illegal detention." The ICC judge has been placed on the international wanted list.
In June 2024, Haikel Ben Mahfoud and two other ICC judges, Rosario Salvatore Aitala and Sergio Gerardo Ugalde Godínez, issued an arrest warrant for Shoigu and Gerasimov.
The Russian military leaders were accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity for the Russian army's strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
Arrest warrants for Shoigu and Gerasimov
In June of this year, the Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for the former Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu and the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov.
The warrants are related to the war in Ukraine for alleged international crimes committed between October 10, 2022, and March 9, 2023.
The Pre-Trial Chamber found there were reasonable grounds to believe that both suspects are responsible for missile strikes carried out by the Russian Armed Forces on Ukraine’s electrical infrastructure. During this period, Russian troops carried out numerous strikes on power plants and substations in various locations across Ukraine.
