If Russian President Vladimir Putin visits Hungary, that country has an obligation to arrest him. So says the foreign commentator Bernard Hammelburg. Hungary is in fact a member of the International Criminal Court in The Hague (ICC), which has issued an arrest warrant for Putin, Hammelburg stresses.
Gergely Gulyas, chief of staff to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, said on Thursday that the country would not cooperate in arresting Putin if the president sets foot on Hungarian soil. “If we look at the Hungarian law, we see that we cannot arrest the Russian president, as the statute has not been introduced in Hungary.”
Such a ruling would not be in line with the rules of the International Criminal Court. By recognizing the ICC, Hungary must also implement the body’s rules. Every member country of the ICC has a duty to arrest Putin if he shows up there. (…). Formally, Hungary has a duty to arrest someone if an arrest warrant is pending, in this case for Putin,’ says Hammelburg.
“He might as well have kept this a secret, because the chance of that happening is very small”
The foreign commentator finds the statement by Orbán’s cabinet chief special. “He could have kept this a secret, because the chances of that happening are very low.” But Hammelburg points out that there is a political reason for the ruling. This is also political. The fact that it is said shows that Hungary thinks very differently from the EU and NATO”.
Children deported illegally
The arrest warrant for Putin follows an International Criminal Court investigation into hundreds of illegally deported Ukrainian children. According to the ICC, there is “reasonable to believe” that Putin bears individual responsibility for this. Putin is only the third incumbent president to face an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court. However, it is unlikely that he will actually be arrested.
Source: BNR
Sharon Rock is an author and journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. She has a passion for learning about different cultures and understanding the complexities of the world. With a talent for explaining complex global issues in an accessible and engaging way, Sharon has become a respected voice in the field of world news journalism.
