South Africa’s Department of Justice has filed a formal request to the country’s National Director for Public Prosecutions (NDPP) to enforce the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) directive for Russian President Vladimir Putin to be arrested on charges of war crimes, according to the Democratic Alliance party.
The Director for Public prosecutions received the request on 17 July. The Democratic Alliance party notes the South African government has formally initiated the process of Putin’s arrest that is going to happen should he enter the country.
South Africa’s presidency revealed on 19 July that Vladimir Putin would not attend the BRICS Summit in South Africa in August. He will only join the summit via video call, as the Kremlin confirmed. Sergey Lavrov, the Foreign Minister, will represent Russia.
The South African president Cyril Ramaphosa was against arresting Putin, seeing as, according to him, that would compromise the security of the country.
“It would be inconsistent with our Constitution to risk engaging in war with Russia. I have constitutional obligations to protect the national sovereignty, peace and security of the republic, and to respect, protect, promote and fulfil the rights of the people of the republic to life, safety and security, among other rights in the Bill of Rights,” the president said in his affidavit to the High Court in Gauteng.
The Hague International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin on 17 March. “Mr Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, President of the Russian Federation, is allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation,” reads the Court’s statement.
