The government of the South African Republic has officially applied to the court for an arrest warrant for Putin in case he arrives in the country.
This was reported by the main opposition party of South Africa "Democratic Alliance".
"South Africa’s National Director for Public Prosecutions (NDPP) on 17 July 2023 received a formal request from the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development for the issuance of a warrant to arrest Putin," the message reads.
The countryʼs Justice Department received the documents about the ICC warrant back in May and, as it admitted in a statement to the court, it should have immediately sent them to Batohi, but instead decided to initiate a consultation procedure with the court in The Hague.
At that time, South African and Russian officials publicly stated that Putin could come to the BRICS summit in the Republic of South Africa, despite the ICC warrant (and South Africa is a party to the court and is obliged to comply with it).
Putinʼs trip to South Africa was supposed to be his first foreign visit after the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued a warrant for his arrest on March 17, 2023, on suspicion of deporting Ukrainian children to the Russian Federation and committing war crimes in Ukraine.
"Democratic Alliance", commenting on the notice published by the Gauteng court, stated that it was public pressure that contributed to the South African authorities fulfilling their obligations under the Rome Statute.
On July 19, the office of the President of South Africa announced that instead of Putin, the head of Foreign Affairs Serhii Lavrov will come to the BRICS summit. This was later confirmed in the Kremlin.
Putin can be arrested on the territory of 123 countries that have ratified the Rome Statute (including South Africa).