Africa-Press – South-Africa. The South African government has conceded that it failed to execute its international responsibilities by failing to issue a warrant for the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin if he enters the country.
On Friday, the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria confirmed that the justice department had finally sent the Putin arrest warrant to National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) Shamila Batohi on Monday.
This was more than two months after the international relations and co-operation department sent its justice colleagues the warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC). The ICC issued the warrant on the basis of Putin’s responsibility for war crimes allegedly committed during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The DA went to court to compel 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 not travel to South Africa, the DA asked the court to compel it to execute the arrest warrant any time the Russian president travels to the country.
The government agreed.
In an affidavit on Thursday, on the eve of the court challenge, justice department director-general Doctor Mashabane conceded that he was “obliged” to forward the arrest warrant to Batohi immediately upon receipt of it on 8 May, in line with South Africa’s Implementation Act.
However, Mashabane said he did not “discharge” that obligation because he wanted to consult with the ICC first.
That meeting happened on 8 June.
Mashabane said:
The court order stated that the justice department “tenders the applicant’s costs, including the costs of two counsel and all costs previously reserved”.
In a statement after the court order, DA leader John Steenhuisen claimed victory, saying Mashabane only sent the ICC’s documents to Batohi on Monday because the application put them under “pressure”.
“Despite President Cyril Ramaphosa’s best efforts to shield Putin from accountability for his alleged war crimes – including through his absurd claim that the South African Constitution somehow prohibited him from complying with the ICC directive – it is now clear that the DA’s commitment to justice and the rule of law has been completely vindicated. The justice department’s request for Batohi to issue a warrant of arrest for Putin directly contradicts Ramaphosa and confirms the DA’s stance that this was always the only correct course of action,” Steenhuisen asserted.
Ramaphosa had also filed papers in the court challenge, detailing South Africa’s frantic negotiations with BRICS member countries for Putin not to grace the summit.
In an affidavit, he said he first asked Putin not to attend Africa’s Ukraine-Russia peace summit on 19 June, and the Russian leader said he would “apply his mind” to the request.
Three days later, Ramaphosa added he met with Brazil President Lula da Silva at the Global Financing Pact summit in Paris, France, and lobbied South Africa’s position that Putin should not attend the BRICS summit, which is expected to run from 22 to 24 August.
He stated: “At this meeting [with Da Silva], the president of Brazil agreed that the preferred option, being that President Putin would not attend the [BRICS] summit in person, had his support.”
Following consultations with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, the Presidency announced on Wednesday that Putin would not attend the summit by “mutual agreement”.
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