ICC prosecutor seeks arrest warrant for Myanmar military leader

27/11/2024 17:54

        The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) said on Wednesday he would seek an arrest warrant for Myanmar's military leader Min Aung Hlaing for crimes against humanity over the alleged persecution of the Rohingya, a mainly Muslim minority.
        
        A panel of three judges will now decide if they agree there are "reasonable grounds" to believe general Min Aung Hlaing bears criminal responsibility for the deportation and persecution of Rohingya in Myanmar and Bangladesh.
        
        There is no set time frame for their decision but it generally takes around three months to rule on issuing an arrest warrant.
        
        The ICC prosecutor's move comes as his office faces intense political backlash from Washington, among others, over its arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense chief Yoav Gallant.
        
        The prosecutor's office said in a statement that it was seeking the warrant after extensive, independent and impartial investigations. More applications for arrest warrants relating to Myanmar will follow,