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WMD charges dropped
08/09/2004 16:01 - (SA)
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| Johan Meyer. (File Photo, Shayne Robinson, Sapa) |
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Vanderbijlpark - Charges were dropped on Wednesday against the head of an engineering company accused of trafficking in nuclear-related equipment, prosecutors said. No reason was given.
Lawyers for Johan Meyer withdrew his bail application during a brief appearance at Vanderbijlpark magistrates court. The case was postponed until October 11 for further investigation.
Soon after, officials at the national prosecuting authority said they had withdrawn all charges against Meyer. They refused to explain the decision.
Meyer's lawyer, Heinrich Badenhorst, also declined to comment on the matter.
Meyer's arrest was part of international investigations into the network of Abdul Qadeer Khan, the disgraced founder of Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme who admitted in February to passing nuclear technology to other countries.
Meyer, 53, was arrested last week at his Tradefin Engineering company in Vanderbijlpark and charged with violating the Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction Act and Nuclear Energy Act. He was not asked to plead.
He was accused of importing and exporting a flow-forming lathe, as well as producing and possessing certain components of a centrifuge enrichment plant without the necessary permits.
These items are key components in the process of enriching uranium, the SA Council for the Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction said in a statement.
Badenhorst said on Tuesday there was no link between his client and the weapons network.
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