Boeremag convicted seek reprieve
2013-01-14 22:29
Johannesburg - Boeremag members found guilty of high
treason could apply for their convictions to be overturned, the North Gauteng High
Court in Pretoria heard on Monday.
They claimed new evidence of a police conspiracy against
them had surfaced.
Judge Eben Jordaan postponed the action by 20 Boeremag
members to 24 January to give them time to seek the advice of a senior
advocate.
Paul Kruger, who represents some of the accused, said a
former policeman, Captain Deon Loots, had made statements about the alleged
conspiracy which were published in a Sunday newspaper in October last year.
Rapport published two articles which quoted Loots
claiming police spies had planted evidence and enticed Boeremag members to
commit crimes.
He said crime intelligence eavesdropped on conversations
between the accused and their lawyers while they were in custody.
Initial indications were that they might bring an
application in terms of Section 38 of the Constitution, which deals with the
right to approach a court concerning the violation of fundamental rights.
He said he was only allowed to consult with Loots in the
middle of December because he had to work through Loots' lawyer, who initially
did not want to let him talk to Loots.
"I could not put a gun against the man's head. I was
in his hands," he said.
Senior prosecutor Paul Fick objected to the trial being
postponed.
"The court has already made a finding and cannot
review itself. The application will have to be made before another court."
Defence advocate Bernard Bantjes said if there was
substantial evidence, the men's conviction would have to be set aside by
another court.
High treason
Jordaan started giving judgment in the nine-year trial in
July last year.
He convicted the last of the 20 accused - master
bomb-maker Kobus Pretorius - in August last year.
All 20 were convicted of high treason resulting from a
far-right wing plot to overthrow the ANC government.
The Boeremag's bomb squad - Kobus Pretorius, his brothers
Johan and Wilhelm, and Herman van Rooyen and Rudi Gouws - were also found
guilty of attempting to murder former president Nelson Mandela.
In addition, they were convicted of murdering Claudia
Mokone, who was killed when a piece of steel dislodged by a Boeremag bomb
planted on a railway line was flung into her shack in Soweto in October 2002.
During his judgment, Jordaan rejected claims the State
had taken part in planning a coup.
Although the accused claimed they were involved in a
legitimate war against a "racist regime", Jordaan said they could not
have believed that civilian structures, such as a mosque, were legitimate
targets.
- SAPA
