DA Launches Legal Bid to Compel Govt to Arrest Putin, Sparking Debate in SA: “The DA Is Being Used As Pawns”

• The Democratic Alliance has launched an application requesting Russian President Vladimir Putin's arrest if he visits SA
• The legal bid comes as SA is preparing to host the Brics summit in August, which Putin plans to attend physically
• Dirco has gazetted a declaration that will give the summit "protected" status and diplomatic immunity to attendees

JOHANNESBURG - The Democratic Alliance has followed through on its promise to compel the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin by launching an application in the Johannesburg High Court.

The official opposition party is requesting a declaration that if Putin sets foot in South Africa to attend the Brics summit in August, the government must detain and surrender him to the International Criminal Court (ICC), IOL reported.

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The move has divided many South Africans and sparked a heated debate online.

DA explains why it wants court to compel arrest of Putin

DA MP Glynnis Breytenbach said the party has taken on the mantel of ensuring Putin's arrest to avoid a repeat of the 2015 incident when Sudan president Omar al-Bashir was not when visiting SA.

Breytenbach said:

"This pre-emptory court action aims to ensure South Africa upholds its obligations in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and the Implementation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Act.”

Government attempts to declare Brics summit a protected event

To get the government out of the corner it has been backed into, the Department of International Relations and Co-operation (Dirco) gazetted a declaration that the summit is to be a protected event.

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The declaration will provide diplomatic immunity to the summit attendees from the Brics group countries. Dirco claimed the practice was commonplace, TimesLIVE reported.

South Africans debate DA's legal bid to compel arrest of Vladimir Putin

Below are some comments:

@Josphat90396139 asked:

"Will Putin be arrested while attending the UN general assembly in New York?"

@lynne_dare praised:

"YES, DA!!!"

@IronicVector said:

"They can make a song and dance to it all they want, but it will never happen, DA and ICC must go to Russia and get Putin there."

@SmalieEmilee questioned:

"Thank the good Lord for the DA in SA, but will it be enough to stop the chaos hurtling this country's way?!"

South Africans accuse DA leader John Steenhuisen of treason for telling USA that SA sold weapons to Russia

In a related story, Briefly News reported that Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuisen rubbed many South African the wrong way after an explosive interview with a US broadcaster.

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Steenhuisen told CNN and its billions of views that for the past year and a half, his party had suspected that SA sold weapons to Russia for its war in Ukraine.

Steenhuisen's comments piggyback US ambassador Reuben Brigety's accusation that South African weapons were loaded on the Russian ship Lady R when it was docked in Simon's Town in December 2022.

Source: Briefly News