US petition to arrest Putin in SA garners over 400,000 signatures — DA wants supporters to take it to a million

11 May 2023 - 16:17 By SINESIPHO SCHRIEBER
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The DA wants one million people to support a global online petition calling for the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The DA wants one million people to support a global online petition calling for the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Image: SPUTNIK/PAVEL BEDNYAKOV/POOL via REUTERS

The DA wants 1-million people to support a global online petition calling for the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin should he visit South Africa in August. 

Putin is expected to visit the country for the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) summit in August. The Sunday Times reported the government was considering how it would handle the International Criminal Court’s warrant of arrest for Putin. The ICC issued the warrant in March because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

This week, the official opposition party urged the public to support the US-based non-profit organisation Avaaz's online petition that has garnered more than 400,000 signatures.

DA MP Emma Louise Powell said when the petition reaches 1-million signatures, the DA will join the petition organisers to submit it to the government at the Union Buildings.

“Putin must answer for war crimes and the government must do everything possible to arrest him as soon as he steps foot on South African soil.

“Putin has committed heinous crimes against humanity in Ukraine and it is completely irresponsible for the ANC government to still be debating whether to enforce the arrest warrant that was issued by the ICC against him,” said Powell.

Last month, Western Cape Premier Alan Winde said if the Russian leader set foot in the province, he would be arrested.

“The Western Cape government will not only fight for the fundamental rights and freedoms of our citizens but is also willing to show solidarity with Ukraine by taking a stand against the brute force unleashed on its civilians by Russia,” Winde said.

The Sunday Times reported the South African government and Russia were in talks on how to avoid Putin's arrest and even considered the possibility of his attendance of the summit being virtual.

It was reported the government had received legal opinion that it could not avoid the warrant of arrest.

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