President Cyril Ramaphosa fears arresting Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photos: Twitter/ @KremlinRussia_E/ Twitter/CyrilRamaphosa
President Cyril Ramaphosa tells High Court Putin arrest would cause WAR
President Cyril Ramaphosa informed the High Court that arresting President Vladimir Putin would be a declaration of war against Russia.
President Cyril Ramaphosa fears arresting Russian President Vladimir Putin. Photos: Twitter/ @KremlinRussia_E/ Twitter/CyrilRamaphosa
President Cyril Ramaphosa of the Republic of South Africa has made it known that he does not intend to arrest Russian President Vladamir Putin, as ordered by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
DISCLOSING THE AFFIDAVIT CONTENT
This was revealed in an affidavit that was made public by the High Court in Gauteng which echoed sentiments about Ramaphosa’s decision on the matter.
The Presidency even welcomed the decision of the High Court ordering that the answering affidavit related to the International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant matter be made public.
The Presidency further expressed that President Ramaphosa was never opposed to making the affidavits public; “it was only in compliance with the ICC directive that the Presidency sought to maintain confidentiality on the affidavit”.
ALSO READ: ICC’s Putin arrest warrant may be symbolic: accountability
PRESIDENT CYRIL RAMAPHOSA DECIDES ON PUTIN
In the affidavit, Ramaphosa informed the High Court in Gauteng that arresting Russian President Vladamir Putin would be a declaration of war against Russia.
ALSO READ: Russian party says there will be ‘WAR’ if SA arrests Putin
Putin is set to travel to South Africa for the BRICS summit in August, in Johannesburg, in person for the first after four years due to the Covid-19 lockdown.
Earlier this year, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Putin, accusing him of the war crime of illegal deportation of children from Ukraine. The alleged crimes were committed in occupied Ukrainian territory from at least 24 February 2022.
Numerous organisations including the DA have supported the indictment against Putin and have put pressure on the South African government to act on the warrant of arrest upon the arrival of Putin next month.
DA LEADER REFLECTS ON THE JUDGEMENT
Reflecting on the High Court decision, DA leader John Steenhuisen, who welcomed the judgement, said: “It is clear that the South African government is making every attempt to obfuscate and cover up this pivotal matter to avoid public scrutiny, and to mask its inability to stand up to warmongers and despots like Vladimir Putin, as should be expected from any human rights-based foreign policy.”
“Given the farcical nature of President Ramaphosa’s responding affidavit, it is little wonder that he did not want it to see the light of day.
Deploying flimsy arguments which allege that the Russian Federation would declare war on South Africa should we arrest Vladimir Putin, are little more than strawman arguments when the Constitutional principle and both domestic and international law make the merits of this case crystal clear,” Steenhuisen replied.
