Prosecutor seeks ICC arrest warrant for Myanmar junta leader over Rohingya conflict

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) recommended judges Wednesday (Nov. 27) to issue an arrest warrant for Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the head of Myanmar’s military regime.

Hlaing is accused of committing crimes against Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslim minority since he overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in a 2021 coup.

"After an extensive, independent and impartial investigation, my office has concluded that there are reasonable grounds to believe that senior general and acting president Min Aung Hlaing ... bears criminal responsibility for crimes against humanity," the top prosecutor, Karim Khan, said in a statement.

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He added that the atrocities against Rohingya community were carried out with the help of armed forces, the Tatmadaw, and national and border police "as well as non-Rohingya citizens".

The probe into the violence against the Rohingya community was launched in 2019 following themassive displacement of over 750,000 people from the restive Rakhine state in 2016 and 2017. Over a million people now call Bangladesh’s Cox's Bazaar their home, who accuse the Myanmar military of mass killings and rapes.

Karim Khan said he would ask for more warrants for people involved in the actions carried out with "genocidal intent".

"In doing so, we will be demonstrating, together with all of our partners, that the Rohingya have not been forgotten. That they, like all people around the world, are entitled to the protection of the law," he added.

Following the recommendation, a panel of three judges will now see if there are “reasonable grounds” for issuing the arrest warrant. The decision is expected within next three months.

It is to be noted that Myanmar is not a member of the ICC treaty, meaning that the country won’t have any legal obligation to act against Hlaing even if an arrest warrant is issued.

(With inputs from agencies)