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ICC must address false testimony alleging Russia abducts children — deputy Duma speaker

According to Anna Kuznetsova, since the beginning of 2022, the commission has recorded "several cases of child abduction in Lugansk, Kreminna, Donetsk, Artyomovsk, Kherson, Slovyansk, Melitopol, Berdyansk and other towns and villages"

MOSCOW, June 10. /TASS/. The Kiev regime's allegations that Russia abducts children are completely untrue as those children have been found in other countries, including Europe, so the International Criminal Court (ICC) should prosecute witnesses for giving false testimony about Russia's alleged involvement in such crimes, said Russian State Duma Deputy Speaker Anna Kuznetsova, who co-chairs a joint parliamentary commission for investigating criminal acts by the Kiev regime involving minors.

"Law enforcement agencies in a number of countries are finding children who were thought to have been allegedly abducted by Russia in their territory. It is well known - 161 children have been found in Germany. Therefore, we call on judges and prosecutors of the International Criminal Court to consider the possibility of applying Article 70 of the Rome Statute to those persons who testified falsely, including against Russia," Kuznetsova said at the commission meeting. According to her, this proposal will be included in the second chapter of the commission's final report, which is devoted to the international legal assessment of the violations of children's rights and freedoms by the Kiev regime.

According to Kuznetsova, since the beginning of 2022, the commission has recorded "several cases of child abduction in Lugansk, Kreminna, Donetsk, Artyomovsk, Kherson, Slovyansk, Melitopol, Berdyansk and other towns and villages." The commission also received information about cases of forced evacuation of children from Kupyansk and Odessa. "Having analyzed all the information received, we can say that the children taken abroad may be located in about 13 countries. Non-governmental organizations in a number of foreign countries, which acted under the cover of the Ukrainian state authorities, were involved in this expulsion," Kuznetsova said.

According to her, the commission concluded that the structures of the Kiev regime "violated dozens of international legal documents, including documents on international legal children protection." "References to the norms of international law on the part of the Kiev regime are null and void, because the most important principle of this international law, that every state is obliged to refrain from any violent actions that deprive peoples of their right to self-determination, freedom and independence, has been violated in Ukraine," Kuznetsova added.

Last year on June 20, the State Duma adopted a resolution on a parliamentary investigation into the Kiev regime's crimes against children. On June 21, the Federation Council adopted a resolution to support the initiative to launch a parliamentary investigation. A 13-member commission of the Federation Council and 13 State Duma MPs was established. According to the law, the commission is set up for a period of up to one year. The results of the investigation will be sent to the country's leadership.