Monica Rodriguez Santana
Impunity Watch Staff Writer
An exterior view of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, March 31, 2021. Photo Courtesy of Reuters and Piroschka van de Wouw.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Russia has requested the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security to extradite International Criminal Court (ICC) president and Japanese national, Tomoko Akane, among eight other ICC officials.
The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office announced on October 8, 2026, that it had sent a request to the Dutch government for the extradition of the nine ICC officials following their conviction in absentia in a Moscow City Court in December 2025. The named officials include the court’s current president Tomoko Akane, first vice-president Rosario Salvatore Aitala, second vice-president Reine Alapini-Gansou, and judges Haykel Ben Mahfoudh, Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza, and Sergio Gerardo Ugalde Godínez. The remaining three individuals named no longer sit on the court, including former president Piotr Hofmański, former judge Bartram Schmitt, and former ICC prosecutor Karim Khan.
The Russian Court found all nine individuals guilty of knowingly bringing an innocent person to face criminal liability, unlawful detention, and an attack on persons enjoying international protection. The named officials received prison sentences ranging from three and a half years to fifteen years.
This move from Russian authorities comes as retaliation for the ICC’s warrants issued in 2023 against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, the presidential commissioner for children’s rights, for alleged war crimes in Ukraine. The ICC has held them responsible for the unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children from occupied territories to Russia.
According to the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office, the 2023 warrants issued by ICC officials violated international law and were issued without any evidence.
Russia has cited its 2016 presidential order withdrawing its intention to become a party to the Rome Statute as the grounds for not recognizing the ICC’s jurisdiction. The Rome Statute is the international treaty that founded the ICC in 2002, to which neither Russia nor the United States are parties.
This action coincides with the United States’s sanctions on ICC officials, including president Akane, as a result of the U.S. campaign launched in July 2026 to “dismantle the threat posed by the International Criminal Court to U.S. sovereignty.” The ICC authorized an investigation in 2020 into alleged crimes committed by U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan, as well as targeting the U.S. and Israel in its investigation into the conflict in the Gaza Strip.
This conflict creates a point of contention for Japan as it navigates continued support for the ICC while its closest ally, the United States, works to dismantle the institution. Japanese spokesman Masanao Ozaki stated that the Japanese government plans to “respond appropriately, including by making further representations to Russia” and “maintaining communication with the ICC and other states parties.”
Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, during a recent parliamentary session, stated, “We have consistently supported the ICC in accordance with our efforts to uphold the rule of law, and we will continue to do so.”
For further information, please see:
Anadolu Ajansı – Russia seeks extradition of 9 ICC officials convicted in absentia – 9 Oct. 2026
ICC – Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court
NHK World Japan – Russia requests handover of nine ICC officials – 8 Oct. 2026
The Japan Times – Japan calls Russia’s request to extradite ICC head Akane regrettable – 9 Oct. 2026
