Title: South Africa Vows to Arrest Putin at BRICS Summit; Russian Military Blogger Detained
By Zhang Chun, Voice of Hope Reporter
July 21, 2023
Johannesburg, South Africa – The South African government, host of the upcoming BRICS summit, has announced its intention to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin, should he set foot in the country. This move comes in accordance with the requirements of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which issued an arrest warrant for Putin earlier this year due to his alleged involvement in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Scheduled to take place from August 22 to 24 in Johannesburg, the BRICS summit is a significant platform for world leaders to discuss international cooperation and economic development. However, South Africa’s largest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, successfully pressured the government into promising Putin’s arrest if he attends the summit.
The High Court in Pretoria, South Africa’s administrative capital, confirmed the government’s agreement to execute the ICC’s arrest warrant on Friday. The warrant accuses Putin of responsibility for the illegal deportation and kidnapping of Ukrainian children during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The International Criminal Court mandates its 123 member states to arrest Putin when he enters their territories and hand him over to The Hague.
Initially, the South African government refused to comply with the ICC’s warrant, citing potential war risks and declaring that the country was not obligated to fulfill its obligations to the court. However, after the South African Ministry of Justice issued its own arrest warrant, the government agreed to execute it.
Consequently, the South African government has announced that Putin will attend the BRICS summit virtually. Nonetheless, the South African Democratic Union has requested that Putin be arrested if he ever travels to South Africa, a demand that the government has also agreed to.
In a separate development, Russian military blogger Igor Girkin was arrested this week on charges of initiating extremist activities by calling on Putin to step down from his position of power. Girkin, also known as Gilkin, is a prominent figure who played a significant role in Russia’s 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region. He was previously convicted of murder by a Dutch court for shooting down a Malaysia Airlines plane during Russia’s military operation in eastern Ukraine.
According to reports, Girkin’s wife revealed that he was arrested at their home while she was away. The arrest comes on the heels of Girkin’s increasingly critical online calls for Putin’s resignation. He labeled Putin as “insignificant” in his blog, expressing dissatisfaction with his leadership and the country’s war situation.
Russia’s Investigative Committee noted that Girkin was using the internet to launch “extremist activities” and subsequently presented him in court on Friday. This follows the recent detention of another pro-war blogger, retired former Russian intelligence officer Vladimir Kvachkov, signaling a change in the Russian authorities’ tolerance towards such online dissent.
Ukrainian intelligence services have welcomed Girkin’s arrest, interpreting it as a sign of internal discord within Russia.
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