The High Court of South Africa's Gauteng province said the country's justice ministry has sent an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin to the director of the public prosecutor's office, Shamila Batokhi. The court's statement is quoted by the local newspaper News24.
According to News24, this happened more than two months after the Department of International Relations and Cooperation submitted to the Ministry of Justice a warrant from the International Criminal Court in The Hague (ICC) for the arrest of Russian President Putin and children's rights ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova is accused of deporting Ukrainian children from the occupied territories to Russia.
The Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of South Africa, which recognizes the jurisdiction of the ICC, went to court to convince the government to arrest Putin if he comes to the summit. data-type=»hint» data-slate-custom=»{«data-body»:"<p>Founded in 2006, includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.</p>","body»:"<p>Founded in 2006, includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. </p>","isCreated":false,"migrationId":"1646998844495","html":null}»>BRICS in August.
On July 19, the President of South Africa announced that Putin would not go to the event in person. Instead, the Russian delegation in Johannesburg will be headed by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. After that, the opposition Democratic Alliance asked the court to oblige the government to arrest Putin at any time if he still decides to visit South Africa.
In mid-July, the South African authorities asked Russia that Lavrov, not Putin, lead its delegation. As South African Vice President Paul Mashatile said, initially Russia rejected this request. Then Mashatile noted that negotiations with the Russian authorities were ongoing and that South Africa «would be happy if he (Putin — MZ) did not come.»