The last time the accused war crimes figure visited South Africa, he was forced to cut short his visit or risk arrest. Now the South African opposition wants to do the same with Vladimir Putin.

South Africa's leading opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), has said it has gone to court to force the government to arrest Putin if he sets foot in the country, Politico writes..

The publication recalls that the International Criminal Court in The Hague in March issued an arrest warrant for a Russian autocrat in connection with the forced deportation of Ukrainian children from the occupied Ukrainian territories to Russia.. The DA party filed a lawsuit asking the court to “detain Putin and hand him over to the ISS” if he arrives in South Africa to attend the August BRICS summit.

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Politico reminds that the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India and China will come to the summit in South Africa on August 22-24. As a signatory to the Rome Statute, it would theoretically be obligated to arrest Putin on its territory..

In 2015, the South African government allowed then Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to leave the country after he visited Pretoria, where the African Union was held, despite two ISS arrest warrants for genocide and war crimes in Darfur..

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While Russia has not yet confirmed whether Putin will personally attend the summit. He has largely avoided international travel since the start of the war against Ukraine.. On Tuesday, Kremlin speaker Dmitry Peskov said that Russia "

Earlier Tuesday, South Africa's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it would grant immunity to BRICS summit attendees, noting it was "

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