PLEASE TAKE 2 MINUTES TO READ ... OUR FAMILY NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT - THEN PLEASE PASS ON AND COPY MY BROTHER-IN-LAW Craig Hudson on
[email protected]
Dear Friends,
I am writing this e-mail as a last desperate attempt to save 70 men, from what will surely be, a terrible human rights violation, if Mr. Mugabe's plan to extradite them from Zimbabwe to Equatorial Guinea goes through. For those of you that are not aware of the events leading up to their incarceration, I will briefly paint the scenario:
On the 7 March 2004, 3 crew, 64 security guards, and a cargo of supplies left South Africa on a chartered flight for the Democratic republic of Congo. On route they landed in Zimbabwe, at Harare International Airport, to pick up a consignment of arms and ammunition which had been legally purchased from Zimbabwe Defense Industries. The men, the supplies and the ammunitions were to be used to guard mines in the DRC. On landing in Harare the plane was boarded by the Zimbabwe military, and all the crew and passengers were arrested, for supposedly contravening Zimbabwe immigration laws, for contravening laws regarding the possession of weapons, (Which they did not have in their possession yet), and plotting a coupe in Equatorial Guinea.
Unbeknown to any of the men, 15 men had been arrested in Equatorial Guinea for supposedly plotting to kill the president of that country, and overthrow his government. Allegedly they were going to replace him with the previous leader of the country, in return for oil and mining rights. The president of EG is MR Nguema, an absolute dictator, who rules his country with an iron fist. There are no newspapers or bookshops in EG. The people do not receive any education. And there is definitely no Rule of law. This man had is own Uncle executed after he took over the country. A South African man named Nick Du Toit appeared on National television claiming that the men in Zimbabwe were destined for Equatorial Guinea, and the 14 men in EG were an advance party. Anyone who watched this broadcast could have seen that he was making this statement under duress. It could be clearly heard that someone was coaching him from behind the camera. Mr. Du Toit an ex Special Forces member and now businessman in EG, had made this confession only two days after his arrest. What self serving Special Forces member would give up this information so quickly? A week later it was reported that one of the 15 had died from Cerebral Malaria. A man who was this sick was going to overthrow the government? I can't believe it.
Meanwhile back in Zimbabwe the 70 men were sitting in jail. Many accusations were being reported in the media, without may I add any solid proof, to back any of the media reports. Our own Foreign Minister the Honorable DR. Zuma went on national television and stated that Foreign affairs could do nothing for these men as they had committed a crime in another country. What crime? No charges had been laid against any of the men yet. What happened to our Constitutional right to be Innocent until Proven Guilty? The charges as mentioned earlier were only laid a number of days later, and the men were remanded in custody until their court appearance date of the 5 April 2004. On this date the case was postponed, and after numerous postponements the case was finally heard this weak. Meanwhile the men remained in a maximum security prison in Zimbabwe, where the have allegedly been tortured and beaten by some "other force" according to the Zimbabwe courts. On Wednesday the defense gave there closing arguments, but the prosecution claimed they were not ready with their closing arguments, and the case was adjourned until today 30 April 2004. I believe no credible evidence was given against the 70 men, and the defense requested that all charges be dropped, and the men be released.
The story now takes a turn for the worse. On Wednesday 28 April 2004, Zimbabwe suddenly signs an extradition treaty with Equatorial Guinea. On Thursday President Nguema flies into Bulawayo and has a meeting with President Mugabe, and now all of a sudden the 70 men are to be extradited to EG. If I am not mistaken in most countries you can only be extradited to another country to stand trial if you have committed a crime in that country. 99% of these men never been to Equatorial Guinea, let alone committed a crime there. The South African Foreign affairs ministry sent a delegation to EG in March to visit the detainees. They never got to see them. On their return to South Africa they stated in their report, that they do not believe that the men would receive a fair trial in that country. If this is the case, then the 70 men, will surely also not receive a fair trial.
The Foreign Ministry has stated that they cannot intervene, as they have no legal grounds. What happened to our constitution, which gives every one of us the right to a fair trial? If the Foreign Ministry believes that they are guilty then the 70 men should have been extradited to South Africa, and stand trial under The Foreign Military Assistance act? But they have not applied for extradition to RSA, so we must assume they to have no evidence to support the claims, in which case the 70 men are innocent, and DR. Zuma should be doing everything in her power to have the 70 men released, and returned home. These 70 men do have rights under our constitution, just as all prisoners in South Africa have rights.
I have put you through the agony of this story, as one of the 70 men, is my Father in-law. He was the flight Engineer on this plane, and was only contracted for this charter flight. Even if the Foreign Ministry has no legal grounds to oppose the extradition, they have a moral and civic duty to ensure that all South Africans are awarded all Human Rights under our constitution, and that includes a fair trial. Quiet diplomacy will not help.
Please send this mail to all your friends and colleagues, and copy me. This way we can form a petition to take to our Honorable President Mr. Mbeki that he may intervene and ensure that these men come home safely.
Best Regards
Craig Hudson
Boksburg 17 Round Table
East Rand Area IRO/PRO
Tel : +27 11 455 0265
Fax : +27 11 455 0268
Mobile: +27 82 820 8658
e-mail :
[email protected]