Russian Interior Ministry Adds ICC President Piotr Hofmanski to Most Wanted List

The Russian Interior Ministry made a significant move on Monday by adding the President of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Piotr Hofmanski, to its list of most wanted individuals. Additionally, the Vice President of the ICC, Luz del Carmen Ibáñez, and Judge Bertram Schmitt have also been included in this list.

The specific charges against Hofmanski have not been detailed by the Russian Interior Ministry at this time. This development follows Russia’s previous search for the Chief Prosecutor of the ICC, Karim Khan, and three other judges from the institution back in May. Those searches were initiated due to what Russia perceived as an “illegal arrest warrant” issued against Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In March, the ICC issued an international arrest warrant against President Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, the Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights of the Russian Federation. The warrant was related to allegations of war crimes involving the forcible deportation of Ukrainian minors from captured areas during the ongoing conflict. The ICC determined that there were “reasonable grounds” to believe that President Putin bore “individual criminal responsibility” for these crimes, whether through direct commission or the failure to exercise sufficient control over civilian and military subordinates responsible for these acts.