A Moscow court has issued an arrest warrant for International Criminal Court (ICC) judge Haykel Ben Mahfoud on charges of "illegal imprisonment", reports Radio Free Europe (RSE) today.
On November 11, the court announced that the charge stems from the International Criminal Court's issuance of arrest warrants for former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov.
Mahfud and his ICC colleagues, Rosario Salvatore Aitala and Sergio Gerardo Ugalde Godinez, issued warrants for Shoigu and Gerasimov in late June for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Ukraine after Russia began its 2022 invasion of its neighbor.
According to the ICC judges, Shoigu and Gerasimov were responsible for Russian missile strikes carried out from October 2022 and at least until March 9, 2023, against Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
An ICC statement issued at the time said that "the expected collateral damage and damage to civilians would be clearly excessive in relation to the expected military advantage" for those who ordered the strikes.
Shoigu was deposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in May, and now heads Putin's Security Council.
Earlier last year, Russian authorities added Aitala, along with International Criminal Court judge Tomoko Akane and prosecutor Karim Khan, to their wanted list after issuing arrest warrants in March 2023 for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Children's Commissioner Maria Lvova - Belov, for being responsible for the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia after the invasion - which is a war crime under international law.
Russia retaliated by opening criminal proceedings against ICC officials.
The ICC has no mechanism of its own to enforce its arrest warrants, and relies on the judiciary of its 124 member states to execute them.
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