Brazil’s Lula Reverses: Arresting Putin Is Up to Judiciary

Al Jazeera reports:

Brazil’s leader has withdrawn his personal assurance that Russian President Vladimir Putin would not be arrested if he attends next year’s Group of 20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, saying it would be up to the judiciary to decide. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva also questioned Brazil’s membership in the United Nations war crimes court, saying on Monday “emerging countries often sign things that are detrimental to them”.

Brazil is a signatory to the Rome Statute, which led to the founding of the ICC. Lula raised eyebrows at the weekend when he told Indian news network Firstpost: “If I’m the president of Brazil and if he [Putin] comes to Brazil, there’s no way that he will be arrested.” He changed tack on Monday at a press conference in Brazil telling reporters: “I don’t know if Brazil’s justice will detain him. It’s the judiciary that decides, it’s not the government.”

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Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has withdrawn his personal assurance that Russian President Vladimir Putin would not be arrested if he attends next year’s G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro ⤵️ https://t.co/W12v3waSaX

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) September 11, 2023