The arrest warrant for Putin, Scheffer: He will be subject to arrest throughout his life

Whether you ever go to the dock or not, Russia's President Vladimir Putin will always be “accused of fugitive” by international justice, says American lawyer David Scheffer.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants Friday for Putin, accusing him of war crimes in Ukraine, including the illegal expulsion of children.

Scheffer, who has served as US Ambassador to War Crimes Issues in Bill Clinton's administration, says he expects further charges against Russian leaders and people who observe his orders.

Putin “should truly be afraid of travel outside Russia's borders. Maybe, except places like: China, Belarus, Iran, North Korea. These countries would certainly not arrest”, Scheffer tells Radio Free Europe.

Radio Free Europe: Mr. Schaffer, can Vladimir Putin be arrested after this arrest warrant?

David Scheffer: President Putin will be subject to arrest throughout his life. Because of the arrest warrant issued today [on 17 March] by the International Criminal Court, he will be permanently identified as an fugitive indictee until he is arrested and brought to the International Criminal Court for what is known as confirmation of the charges. After that, if judges agree, he will be indicted before the International Criminal Court.

But this label, as fugitive accused, will continue for years until they are arrested if ever arrested.

Radio Free Europe: Who can arrest Putin?

David Scheffer: Authorities of each side state in the Rome statue [v.j. The treaty that has founded the International Criminal Court is obliged to do so. This means that if he would travel to the territory of any side state, he would be arrested.

There is always the possibility that if he is in Russia or elsewhere, in China, in North Korea, or in Belarus, there is a secret operation to arrest him. But, you know, it's kind of extreme.

Radio Free Europe: You mentioned some places... What if some of them refuse to do so?

David Scheffer: If they are parties in Rome's statue and refuse to arrest him, they violate their obligations with this statute. They must decide whether they want to be viewed as violators of the treaty's obligations or not.

A few years ago, Jordan, which is a party to Rome's Statttatin, has allowed President Al Bashir of Sudan to enter its territory and has refused to arrest him, even though he has been indicted by the International Criminal Court.

The judges have been following this case and have found that Jordan has had a clear legal obligation to arrest Mr. Al Bashir because of her participation in Rome's statue.

Radio Free Europe: Will Putin now be afraid to travel?

David Scheffer: Of course. He has to take this very seriously. Even inside [Russia] I understand from the news that he is no longer flying, perhaps for fear of danger in the sky. He takes the train wherever he goes to Russia. Now, he must truly fear travel outside Russia's borders. Maybe, except places like: China, Belarus, Iran, North Korea. These countries would certainly not arrest him.

Radio Free Europe: Were there cases like this before?

David Scheffer: Yeah. Sudan's Al Bashir has been very limited in his travels. He had to be very careful where he traveled. He's been traveling to South Africa. She has initially welcomed him, but has had to leave this country very soon, following threats that he could be arrested. Why? Because South Africa is a party in the Rome statue.

So, yes, [the arrest warrant] greatly limits one's ability to conduct any international diplomacy.

Mr. Putin will be undesirable internationally, no doubt about that.

Radio Free Europe: The International Criminal Court charges Putin with being responsible for the illegal expulsion of children from Ukraine, which constitutes a war crime. Do you think he could add more charges?

David Scheffer: Yeah, I'm sure he'll be charged with other war crimes. The prosecutor himself has signalled earlier this week that charges could be filed against Ukraine's energy infrastructure, which have had enormous impact on the safety and well-being of the civilian population, because it has remained without power during the cold winter months.

It would not be surprising if the International Criminal Court soon issued arrest warrants even for the crime.

Then there are many other crimes, because Putin has been very transparent in terms of leading the military in its aggression against Ukraine and committing atrocities there. So, being so transparent, he is publicly incriminating, repeatedly. I think there'll be more arrest warrants against him.

Radio Free Europe: The Kremlin has said this arrest warrant is “unacceptable” and “invalid”, while also stating that Russia does not recognise the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. How can this affect the application of this command?

David Scheffer: I think his protest will be ignored. It's an old argument. The fact that [Russia] is not party to Rome's Stattuti is not proper for responsibility, if [Putin] decides to go to the territory of a party, or a country that has given jurisdiction to the International Criminal Court over its territory.

Ukraine has been doing this since 2014, when Putin entered Crime.

Everyone would expect Russia to react that way. But it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter how you react. For the rest of his life, this arrest warrant will be there, it will never be removed. This is reality. It's time to face this reality. He may not appear before the International Criminal Court another 15-20 years. It may never come out. But he will always be an accused fugitive from international justice.

Radio Free Europe: And what does that mean for the war in Ukraine?

David Scheffer: I hope it will send a signal that not only to Mr. Putin, but also to the people who act under his leadership, who follow his orders and who are part of planning these crimes in Ukraine, justice is knocking. Whether they want to admit it or not, this is happening. They can protest as much as they want, but it's happening. And that is the importance of today's news.