On Monday, September 25th, Russia made an announcement that it has included International Criminal Court President Piotr Hofmanski on its list of wanted individuals. This move comes as Hofmanski had been actively pursuing the arrest of President Vladimir Putin.
The notice released by the Russian interior ministry database identified the wanted individual as “Hofmanski Piotr Jozef, Polish, wanted under an article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.” However, the ministry did not provide any specific details about the allegations against Hofmanski.
This development follows the issuance of an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in March. The ICC accused Putin of war crimes related to the unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children. Additionally, the ICC also issued a warrant for Russia’s presidential commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, on similar charges.
Prior to these actions, arrest warrants had been issued by the ICC for ICC prosecutor Karim Khan and several judges. It’s important to note that Russia is not a member of the ICC and has consistently maintained that the warrant against Putin is invalid.
In September, the ICC established a field office in Ukraine with the aim of holding Russian forces accountable for their actions during Moscow’s offensive in the Western-backed country.
