Man held 'because he's Muslim'

2004-04-22 10:17

Erika Gibson

Johannesburg - A South Africa woman's Jordanian husband has been held in a police cell in Pretoria for three weeks and no one can tell her why.

More than three weeks ago, immigration officials phoned Shareen Hendi of Westbury, Johannesburg, at work saying they were about to arrest her husband, Mohammed, and she should come home to look after her child.

Police could produce no warrant for Hendi's arrest or for searching their home. Yet, about 20 immigration officials, police officers and "people in civilian clothes" confiscated documents after searching the house and then took her husband to the police station.

Hendi is a Jordanian and has been living in South Africa for two-and-a-half years. He and his wife were married last year and he has a residence permit because his wife is a South African citizen.

"He has no criminal record and even has a statement by the Jordanian police to confirm this. He is also not wanted in Jordan for any offence," she said on Wednesday.

She said her husband was questioned, handcuffed and put in leg-irons for the first two weeks of his incarceration at Pretoria's Moot police station.

A week ago police transferred him to Brooklyn police station without informing her. He had to bribe a cleaner to phone her and tell her where he was being held.

She suspected that he was being held "simply because he is a foreign Muslim". No charges have been formulated against him and no one can tell her what will happen to him.

Two of her husband's Jordanian acquaintances were arrested in a similar manner and have already been deported to Jordan. A week ago, her husband refused to get on a flight back to Jordan.

"One does not expect this type of action in a democracy. My husband did nothing wrong."

Police denied that they were discriminating against Muslims, and the National Intelligence Agency denied that it was allowing foreign intelligence agents to question the Jordanians.

The National Prosecuting Authority had not reacted to these reports by Wednesday evening.

- Beeld