South African high court orders government to arrest Vladimir Putin
The South African government has been ordered by the high court to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin if he ever sets foot in the country, in compliance with the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) directive, BBC reports.
The confirmation came after the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Friday asked the National Director of Public Prosecutions, Shamila Batohi, to issue an arrest warrant for Putin.
The court agreed to the demands of opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party and ordered the ruling government to adhere to the obligations under the Rome Statute and arrest Putin, news24 reported.
South Africa has been a signatory to the statute since 1998.
The ICC issued a warrant against Putin for alleged war crimes during Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The opposition DA had sought the court’s intervention to pressure the government to arrest Putin if he travels to South Africa for the BRICS summit, scheduled for August in Johannesburg.
But after the government announced that Putin would skip the BRICS Summit, the DA urged the court to order the government to implement the arrest warrant any time the Russian president travels to the country.
