POLITIEK
Zuid-Afrika verleent Poetin immuniteit voor BRICS-top
May 31, 2023 - South Africa has indicated that it will allow Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend an upcoming BRICS summit, despite an ICC arrest warrant issued against him.
South Africa, a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC), would theoretically be required to arrest Putin under a warrant issued by the court for his arrest for alleged war crimes.
However it has invited Putin to the Aug 22-24 summit of the BRICS grouping of emerging economies, which comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
The ICC issued an arrest warrant in March for Putin, accusing him of the war crime of forcibly deporting children from Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine. Moscow denies committing war crimes including forced deportations of children, and says the ICC has no authority as Russia is not a member.
Putin, only the third serving president to have been issued an arrest warrant by the ICC, is unlikely to end up in court any time soon. But the warrant means that he could be arrested and sent to The Hague if he travels to any ICC member states, Reuters said.