The government of the Republic of South Africa admitted on July 21 that it had failed to fulfill its international obligations by refusing to immediately issue an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin if he entered the country.
Source: “European truth“with reference to the South African edition of News24
Details: Back in May, the South African Ministry of Justice received documents on the warrant from the International Criminal Court and, as it has now admitted, should have immediately applied to the prosecutor’s office for a national arrest warrant for Putin. Instead, he decided to initiate a consultation procedure with the court in The Hague.
As you know, at that time, South African and Russian officials publicly stated that Putin could come to the BRICS summit in South Africa, despite the ICC warrant (and South Africa is a party to the court and is obliged to comply with it).
In this regard, the opposition party “Democratic Alliance” went to court to oblige the authorities to apply for a warrant for Putin’s arrest.
On Friday, the court confirmed that the South African authorities did apply to the prosecutor’s office for a warrant. This means that now the President of Russia will definitely be arrested if he decides to come to South Africa.
“Democratic Alliance”, commenting on the message published by the Gauteng court, said that it was public pressure that contributed to the fulfillment by the South African authorities of their obligations under the Rome Statute.
What came before: It became known that the President of Russia “by mutual agreement” still will not go to the BRICS summit in the Republic of South Africa, where he should have been arrested on the warrant of the International Criminal Court.
Last week, information appeared that South Africa asked Russia to send Lavrov instead of Putin, but was refused.
Read also: The Hague prepares news. Why an ICC warrant for Putin could even lead to a genocide case
2023-07-21 17:17:30
#South #African #authorities #agreed #issue #warrant #arrest #Putin
