Russia puts Karim Khan on wanted list

MOSCOW (AFP): Russian authorities have put International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan on a “wanted” list after the Hague-based court issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin in March.

Karim Khan’s picture could be seen in the Russian interior ministry’s database on Friday.

The notice described him as a man born on March 30, 1970 in Edinburgh, Scotland but did not specify his offence.

In March, Russia opened a criminal probe into Khan after the ICC announced an arrest warrant for Putin on the war crime accusation of unlawfully deporting Ukrainian children.

The court also issued an arrest warrant against Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s presidential commissioner for children’s rights.

Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said in March that Khan was being probed for the “criminal prosecution of a person known to be innocent.”

He was also being invstigated for allegedly preparing “an attack on a representative of a foreign state enjoying international protection,” investigators said.

Kyiv says more than 16,000 Ukrainian children have been deported to Russia since the beginning of Moscow’s offensive in February 2022, with many allegedly placed in institutions and foster homes.

Russia, which is not a member of the ICC, has said the warrant is “void”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has hailed the court’s move as a “historic decision from which historic responsibility will begin.”

US President Joe Biden said the arrest warrant for Putin was “justified”.