A Moscow court on Monday issued an arrest warrant for Haykel Ben Mahfoudh, an International Criminal Court (ICC) judge, who is facing charges of false imprisonment in Russia.
Ben Mahfoudh has also been placed on the international wanted list, a spokesperson for the court told TASS. The ruling means he will immediately be placed in custody should he ever travel to Russia or be extradited by a third nation.
He is responsible for targeting the country's top general and its former defense minister. The false imprisonment charges stem from his ruling to issue arrest warrants for former Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and the country’s Chief of General Staff, Valery Gerasimov. If found guilty, Ben Mahfoudh risks serving up to four years behind bars for the offense, in accordance with Russian law.
The ICC warrants for Shoigu and Gerasimov, which were issued in June over alleged war crimes committed during the Ukraine conflict, became the latest hostile action taken by the international body against Russia.
Last year, the court issued warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova over the alleged “unlawful deportation” of children from “occupied areas of Ukraine.”
Moscow rejected the accusations as absurd, pointing out that it had lawfully evacuated children from a war zone where they faced imminent danger from indiscriminate Ukrainian artillery and drone strikes. Russia has repeatedly expressed its readiness to return the children to their parents or other legal guardians should they file the appropriate request.
These earlier warrants prompted legal action in Russia as well: the ICC officials behind them faced criminal proceedings. Moreover, Moscow has repeatedly said it considers the ICC’s actions null and void, since the country is not a party to the Rome Statute, the treaty which established the international judicial body.