Of the convicted persons in the so-called Boeremag case, a petition has been made to the chief judge of the constitutional court claiming that the judicial system currently denies them the opportunity to appeal and asks that the Legal Aid Board allocate some legal representatives at their disposal in order to prepare the matter.
While the petition by Dr. Lets Pretorius and two of his sons were filed last month, a nonprofit organization that strives for the liberation of Boer prisoners, Boervin, gave their support to the petition.
A statement by Boervin outlines the background of the Boerema case, which began in April 2002 when the first Boeremag accused were arrested. On 19 May 2002 the record court case began, which would last for more than eleven years in the Pretoria High Court.
Some of the accused had extremely strict bail conditions, but eleven of the accused had to be detained for 11 years after the bail was refused.
Everyone (except two who died during the marathon court case) was found guilty of treason, and several sentences were imposed on 28 October 2013. The remark of Judge Eben Jordaan that he has taken the 11 years into account, of which they remained incarcerated or under the most severe bail conditions, seemed only to be lip-service because he sentenced some of the convicted men for another 25 years effective imprisonment. “The extreme strict bail conditions including the security, does not seem to be taken into account as part of their sentences by Jordan,” said Boervin.
“The law requires for leave to appeal to be filed within 21 days after sentences have been imposed. The Boeremag members have for the past four years found themselves since sentencing, in a system that actually deprives their constitutional right to appeal. Of the men, it was not yet possible to apply for leave to appeal. Everyone who could succeed in asking for leave to appeal had to bring their applications back to Judge Jordaan, who summarily refused all applications. The men whose applications for leave of appeal have been rejected by Judge Jordaan are in the meanwhile seeking a petition for the appeal court in order to obtain leave to appeal, but fail to make such an application. Some people’s legal representatives do not get out of the blocks.
Dr. Lets Pretorius and two of his sons, Drs Johan and Wilhelm Pretorius, decided to petition directly to the Chief Judge of the Constitutional Court, Judge Mogoeng-Mogoeng. In the petition, they state that the system actually deprives them of their right to appeal. It includes their incarceration circumstances created by the Department of Correctional Services, the procrastination and delays caused by the unjust and mal-administration of the Legal Aid Board and the courts. In their petition, the three Drs Pretorius asked for a court order to the effect that Prof. Hercules Booysen, and Mr. Julian Knight, be appointed respectively as their advocate and lawyer by the Legal Aid Board in order for them to contest the constitutionality and legality of their incarceration. They state that the constitution guarantees the right to appeal and the right to a judicial process which should commence and be completed without unreasonable delays. The delays caused by the incapacity of the system actually deprive them of these rights, which renders their trial unfair. To be incarcerated on the grounds of an unfair trial is unconstitutional and therefore unlawful. The international standard for any court case is 10 years from arrest until all forms of appeal have been exhausted. The Boeremag trial started 15 years ago this month.”
Boervin supports this application from Drs. Pretorius and asks that the community to help make this application a success and requests that people support Boervin to enable them to expose this injustice that continues to rage against the Boer Political Prisoners, nationally and internationally, so that after 15 years of injustice can come to an end.
Read the original article in Afrikaans on Die Vryburger
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