RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin will attend the 15th BRICS Summit in South Africa in August.
This has been confirmed by Prof. Anil Sooklal, ambassador-at-large for Asia and BRICS and South Africa’s Brics sherpa (emissary).
Sooklal told TimesLIVE invitations had been sent out to all Brics heads of state.
“How it works is that if the head of state has a conflict on the date proposed, they will inform us. If we hear nothing, then it is taken that they are all fine with it.”
He said the message South Africa was getting from other member countries was “that they have received the invitation and they are planning to attend”.
“I was in Moscow two weeks ago at the Russian sherpa and he said they are sending an advance team to South Africa to prepare for the attendance of the summit. If they send an advanced team, they are obviously going to be coming,” Sooklal said.
Eighteen-Eleven Media recalls that on 17 March 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued international warrants of arrest for two individuals in the context of the situation in Ukraine: Mr Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and Ms Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova.
Mr. Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, born on 7 October 1952, President of the Russian Federation, is allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation (under articles 8(2)(a)(vii) and 8(2)(b)(viii) of the Rome Statute). The crimes were allegedly committed in Ukrainian-occupied territory at least from 24 February 2022.
ICC opine that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr. Putin bears individual criminal responsibility for the aforementioned crimes, (i) for having committed the acts directly, jointly with others and/or through others (Article 25(3)(a) of the Rome Statute), and (ii) for his failure to exercise control properly over civilian and military subordinates who committed the acts, or allowed for their commission, and who were under his effective authority and control, pursuant to superior responsibility (Article 28(b) of the Rome Statute).
Ms. Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, born on 25 October 1984, Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation, is allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation (under Articles 8(2)(a)(vii) and 8(2)(b)(viii) of the Rome Statute).
The crimes were allegedly committed in Ukrainian-occupied territory at least from 24 February 2022. There are reasonable grounds to believe that Ms Lvova-Belova bears individual criminal responsibility for the aforementioned crimes, for having committed the acts directly, jointly with others and/or through others (Article 25(3)(a) of the Rome Statute).
Pre-Trial Chamber II considered, based on the Prosecution’s applications of 22 February 2023, that there are reasonable grounds to believe that each suspect bears responsibility for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population and that of unlawful transfer of population from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation, in prejudice of Ukrainian children.
The Chamber considered that the warrants are secret in order to protect victims and witnesses and also to safeguard the investigation. Nevertheless, mindful that the conduct addressed in the present situation is allegedly ongoing, and that the public awareness of the warrants may contribute to the prevention of the further commission of crimes, the Chamber considered that it is in the interests of justice to authorise the Registry to publicly disclose the existence of the warrants, the name of the suspects, the crimes for which the warrants are issued, and the modes of liability as established by the Chamber.
The abovementioned warrants of arrest were issued pursuant to the applications submitted by the Prosecution on 22 February 2023.
Additional Report By TimesLive
Eighteen-Eleven Media