The United States announced on Friday that it is imposing sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC). This comes just a few hours after South African jurist Navi Pillay received the Nobel Peace Prize, particularly for her work within the institution.
Previously, the American leader Donald Trump has stated several times that he desires the Nobel Peace Prize and said he would deserve it, citing the fact that he would have stopped several wars and military conflicts.
Washington justifies these sanctions by its desire “to defend American sovereignty and its citizens against the threat posed by the International Criminal Court,” according to a statement from the US State Department, writes Agerpres.
The International Criminal Court reacted on Friday, stating that the sanctions imposed by the United States constitute an attack on international law and warned that “history will judge this moment”.
Concurrently, Russia has requested the Netherlands to extradite nine officials from the Court, including its president Tomoko Akane, of Japanese origin. They were convicted by the Moscow Judiciary, after issuing arrest warrants for several Moscow officials, including President Vladimir Putin. The decisions were made following the invasion of Russian troops in Ukraine.
The Tokyo administration harshly criticized Moscow’s request, calling it unjustified. In this context, the Japanese government announced that it will take diplomatic steps.