DA launches Putin court action

JOHANNESBURG - The Democratic Alliance has gone to court to compel government to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin if he attends the BRICS summit in South Africa.

This follows the issuing of an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court.

READ: SANDF: We will not arrest Putin

The opposition party is asking the high court in Gauteng for a declaratory order, that if Putin arrives in the country, he'll be arrested and handed over.

This preemptory court action aims to ensure that South Africa upholds its obligations in terms of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal.

President Putin is accused by the ICC of being responsible for war crimes.