ICC opens inquiry into Hungary for failing to arrest Netanyahu

THE HAGUE – Judges astatine the International Criminal Court privation Hungary to explicate wherefore it failed to apprehension Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu erstwhile he visited Budapest earlier this month.

In a filing released precocious Wednesday, The Hague-based tribunal initiated non-compliance proceedings against Hungary aft the state gave Netanyahu a reddish carpet invited contempt an ICC apprehension warrant for crimes against humanity successful transportation with the warfare successful Gaza.

During the visit, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced his state would discontinue the court, claiming connected authorities vigor that the ICC was “no longer an impartial court, not a tribunal of law, but a governmental court.”

The Hungarian leader, regarded by critics arsenic an autocrat and the EU’s astir intransigent spoiler successful the bloc’s decision-making, defended his determination to not apprehension Netanyahu.

“We signed an planetary treaty, but we ne'er took each the steps that would different person made it enforceable successful Hungary,” Orbán said astatine the time, referring to the information that Hungary’s parliament ne'er promulgated the court’s statute into Hungarian law.

Judges astatine the ICC person antecedently dismissed akin arguments.

The ICC and different planetary organizations person criticized Hungary’s defiance of the warrant against Netanyahu. Days earlier his arrival, the president of the court’s oversight assemblage wrote to the authorities successful Hungary reminding it of its “specific work to comply with requests from the tribunal for apprehension and surrender.”

A spokesperson for the ICC declined to remark connected the non-compliance proceedings.

Hungary’s determination to permission the ICC, a process that volition instrumentality astatine slightest a twelvemonth to complete, volition marque it the sole non-signatory wrong the 27-member European Union. With 125 existent signatory countries, lone the Philippines and Burundi person ever withdrawn from the tribunal arsenic Hungary intends.

It’s the 3rd clip successful the past twelvemonth that the tribunal has investigated 1 of its subordinate states for failing to apprehension suspects. In February, judges asked Italy to explicate wherefore the state sent a Libyan antheral suspected of torture and execution location connected an Italian subject craft alternatively than handing him implicit to the court.

In October judges reported Mongolia to the court’s oversight enactment for failing to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin erstwhile helium visited the Asian nation.

Hungary has until May 23 to taxable grounds successful its defense.

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