What do we know about Maria Lvova-Belova, who, like Putin, has an ICC arrest warrant

She has been issued an arrest warrant for the same reasons as Vladimir Putin. More than a year after the start of the Russian invasion, the International Criminal Court (ICC) ruled on Friday: Russia is committing war crimes against children in Ukraine. Just like the Russian leader, Maria Lvova-Belova, who has been appointed Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights, is the subject of this arrest warrant for the war crime of “illegal deportation” of Ukrainian children during the Russian invasion.

Who is she ?

Maria Lvova-Belova, who has been in charge of children’s rights in Russia since 2021, is considered by international justice as one of the main participants in the deportation of Ukrainian children.

Last February, she even went on television to President Vladimir Putin, who approved of her, that she had adopted a 15-year-old from the occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupol. Already the mother of ten children, including five adopted, the Russian woman certified: “Now I know what it means to be the mother of a child from Donbass. It’s hard, but we love each other. I think we can handle everything. »

What do we accuse him of?

More than 16,000 Ukrainian children were deported to Russia after the February 24, 2022 invasion, according to Kiev, and many of them were placed in institutions and foster families.

According to the report of the Observatory of Conflicts, published in February, it is primarily a systematized “indoctrination” organized, in particular, by Maria Lvova-Belova.

What does she answer?

For Moscow, which believes that these arrest warrants and the ICC have no legal force, it is simply a matter of the well-being of child victims of the conflict. As quoted by the Russian news agency RIA Novosti, Maria Lvova-Belova assured that she would continue her work, despite the decision of the ICC.

What is the position of the ICC?

ICC President Piotr Hofmansky said the issuance of two arrest warrants is “an important moment in the process of administration of justice” for the court. The warrants, issued at the request of ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan, deal with “alleged war crimes for the deportation of children from the occupied territories of Ukraine to the Russian Federation” since the beginning of the invasion, he said.

Piotr Hofmansky added that the fulfillment of these mandates depends “on international cooperation”. The prosecutor’s office has been investigating possible war crimes or crimes against humanity committed during the Russian offensive for more than a year. Karim Khan said in March after a visit to Ukraine that the alleged child abductions were “the subject of a high priority investigation.” “Children should not be treated like spoils of war,” he insisted.

The contents of the arrest warrants are being kept secret “in order to protect the victims,” ​​Piotr Hofmansky said Friday. “However, the judges of the chamber dealing with this case have decided to make public the existence of the warrants in the interests of justice and to prevent future crimes.”