Russia demands Netherlands hand over ICC President Tomoko Akane
In 2023, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for his country's invasion of Ukraine.
In a recent development, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office has requested the Dutch authorities to extradite Tomoko Akane, the current president of the International Criminal Court (ICC) based in The Hague, Netherlands. Akane, along with eight other ICC officials, including the previous ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan, are accused of being convicted in Russia.
The request was made in retaliation for an arrest warrant issued by the ICC against Russian President Vladimir Putin for his country's invasion of Ukraine in 2023.
The ICC had issued the warrant against Putin in response to his country's military actions in Ukraine. In retaliation, Russian authorities included ICC officials, such as Akane, on their list of wanted individuals. In December 2025, a Moscow court sentenced Akane and others to prison terms ranging from three years and six months to 15 years for issuing arrest warrants for individuals, including the Russian president himself.
The situation took a further turn in August 2025 when the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump sanctioned Akane, a Japanese citizen, for her involvement in the ICC's war-crimes investigations. These investigations have previously targeted U.S. military personnel. The extradition request from Russia comes as the U.S. government has previously criticized the ICC for its investigations into the actions of U.S. military personnel.
Written by urgent.news from Japan Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
