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Putin Arrest Warrant Based on ‘Considerable Evidence,’ Says ICC Judge Tomoko Akane

Yasushi Kaneko / The Yomiuri Shimbun
International Criminal Court Judge Tomoko Akane speaks to reporters at the U.N. headquarters in New York on Wednesday.

By Yasushi Kaneko / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

7:00 JST, December 9, 2023

NEW YORK — International Criminal Court Judge Tomoko Akane said Wednesday that there was sufficient evidence for the arrest warrant that was issued for Russian President Vladimir Putin on suspicion of war crimes in Ukraine.

The arrest warrant would not have been issued “unless considerable evidence existed,” Akane told reporters at the U.N. headquarters in New York, adding that the court had considered the matter in keeping with common practice.

Akane became an ICC judge in 2018. In March this year, she was involved in the ICC’s decision to issue an arrest warrant for Putin for the alleged forced transfer of numerous children from occupied territories of Ukraine to Russia. Russia objected to the ICC’s move, claiming there was no basis for the warrant, and put Akane and others involved on a wanted list.

“I expected that,” Akane said.

She added that she has been careful about what she eats and drinks when she goes out to avoid being poisoned.