ICC questions Hungary for not arresting Netanyahu
The International Criminal Court has demanded an answer from Hungary as to why it did not arrest Benjamin Netanyahu during his trip to the country, in spite of an ICC warrant for purported crimes against humanity in Gaza, Middle East Eye reported on April 16th.
During the trip, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán declared his nation would withdraw from the ICC, The Independent reported on April 17th. He told state radio the ICC was “no longer an impartial court, not a court of law, but a political court.”
“We signed an international treaty, but we never took all the steps that would otherwise have made it enforceable in Hungary,” Orbán continued. His statement was in reference to the fact that the Hungarian parliament never enacted the court’s statute into Hungarian law.
The Middle East Eye reported on April 3rd, that Hungary chose to withdraw from the International Criminal Court. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called the decision “important.”
Hungary’s move to exit the ICC, which will take at least 12 months to complete, will leave it isolated in the EU. It will stand as the only non-signatory among the European Union’s member states. Of the 125 signatory nations, only the Philippines and Burundi have left the court, as Hungary now plans.
The ICC requested in a statement that Budapest submit an official clarification by May 23rd. Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, was in Hungary from April 3rd to April 6th, following the issuing of the arrest warrant in November last year.
Many global bodies, besides the ICC, have also criticized Hungary for resisting the warrant targeting Netanyahu. Before Netanyahu’s arrival, the court’s oversight body president reminded Hungary of its “obligation to comply with requests from the court for arrest and surrender.” But the country has not yet replied to the ICC.
This marks the third investigation this year by the court into its member nations for not arresting suspects.
Middle East Eye, The Independent
