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File in the Samoosa basket
| Date: |
21 May 2006 12:00 |
| Show: | Carte Blanche |
In February this year we brought you the story of a highly secretive operation that took place in Estcourt in KZN in October 2005.
Pakistani national, Khalid Mehmood Rashid and his house mate, Indian-born Moulana Mohammed Ali Jeebhai were abducted by heavily armed men, whom Carte Blanche later established were members of the Police accompanied by Home Affairs officials.
Hooded and tied up, the two foreigners were driven across the country to the Cullinan police station outside Pretoria where we later found their names written in the cell register.
A week after the abduction Mohammed Jeebhai was transferred to the Lindela Repatriation Camp for illegal immigrants in Krugersdorp, where he managed to alert his family who then obtained an urgent High Court order to prevent the two men's deportation.
But it was too late for Khalid Rashid; by then he'd disappeared without trace.
Lawyer, Zehir Omar, acting for Khalid's family and friends, has since been trying to get answers from the Department of Home Affairs.
All they were prepared to say was that Khalid admitted to being an illegal immigrant in this hand written affidavit [on screen], and that he had been deported to Pakistan.
Supporting their claim before court was this letter [on screen] from the Pakistani Government stating that Khalid had arrived there.
But his family in Pakistan said the last time they'd heard from him was in October last year.
[Carte Blanche 12 March 2006]
John Webb (Carte Blanche presenter): 'So you have absolutely no idea where Khalid is?'
Khalid's sister: 'No.'
They fear that the South African Government has secretly extradited Khalid and that he may be in Guantanamo Bay, or a secret CIA detention site in Eastern Europe, Thailand or Afghanistan.
This practice, known as 'extraordinary rendition', is currently under investigation by the European Union.
Back in February an informant told Carte Blanche that the raid in Estcourt - and what followed thereafter - was executed by an elite anti-terror unit that functions covertly within the Crime Intelligence component of the South African Police.
The South African Human Rights Commission's Jody Collapen expressed concern, while Lawyers for Human Rights' Rudolph Jansen said the operation had all the characteristics of an illegal action.
[Carte Blanche 12 March 2006]
Rudolph Jansen (Lawyers for Human Rights): 'They bypassed departments. They bypassed their seniors. They act on their own. They act on a need-to-know basis. It is all secretive and illegal.'
We previously reported that Khalid had been flown out of Waterkloof Air Force base by an aircraft linked to a foreign intelligence agency and that the British may have been involved.
At the time the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office in Pretoria was only prepared to say it was a matter for the South African authorities. Police and Home Affairs refused to be interviewed.
Even the Military would not comment on Carte Blanche's revelation that the Waterkloof Air Force base was used.
John: 'The case was back in the Pretoria High Court on Wednesday 10 May and carried on well into the night. Home Affairs on one side and Zehir Omar and his team on the other had gathered to hear judgement in the case that's been carrying on for the past seven months... little did they know that a dramatic new chapter would open after a sensitive government file went missing.'
The drama started when a box containing samoosas and drinks was delivered to a late night court sitting.
The missing file was later found in the very same box by businessman and law student, Yaseen Suliman, who contacted lawyer Zehir Omar, assuming the file belonged to him.
Zehir Omar: 'That is when I realised that the file could well be a file from the Minister's offices or the State Attorney. That is what I told him: please insure that this file is returned without delay.'
However, Yaseen had by then gone through the file and realised that some of the documents contradicted the claims made in court by Home Affairs. He wanted to bring this to the attention of the judge the next day, but the application to be joined as a friend of the court was opposed by the Department's legal team. The judge ruled that the file's contents were not to be revealed by the media and Yaseen's affidavit would not form part of the pleadings before court.
John: 'It was agreed that Yaseen Suliman's intention to join the case as a friend of the court was delaying the judgement. Justice Poswa said, 'In theory Khalid Rashid could be alive now and dead tomorrow. My first concern is for him; his life could be lost at any moment'. But that didn't signal an end to the saga for Suliman. In fact, it was only just beginning.'
Because of the delay, the case continued last Sunday. About 30 people - some South African Muslims and others Pakistanis - attended the proceedings, but before they even began, these two men [on screen] were seen hiding around the corner and filming people outside court.
Soon after, police and immigration officers descended on the building.
When the court adjourned two hours later the Pakistanis left the building, moving towards their cars and that's when the trouble really started.
Home Affairs' Maggie Mahuma is seen trying to point out Yaseen Suliman, whom she now alleges had stolen her file in court.
She seems to think he is among the Pakistanis, so the Immigration Officers try to stop them from leaving.
Zehir Omar is called and he demands to know why the men are detained...
But his pleas fall on deaf ears.
These two cars, seen here escorting the Pakistanis away, are registered to the Department of Public Works, yet they're driven by people claiming to be Immigration officers, using police blue lights and sirens.
This man is a South African citizen, yet he's also detained and someone is called to bring his ID book from home.
In the chaos Yaseen Suliman, who found the file, walks away from court.
Zehir: 'This incident has not only instilled fear in the heart of Suliman, it has instilled fear and suspicion in the heart of every South African. This has caused a sense of unsettlement. This case has harmed our whole nation.'
John: 'Yaseen Suliman, the man who stumbled upon this key piece of evidence, was originally more than happy to grant us an interview here in Pretoria's predominantly Indian business district. That is, until he received four threatening phone calls from unknown men... one specifically warning him not to talk to Carte Blanche. But this is the affidavit that he wanted to submit to court.'
Yaseen Suliman's letter read on screen: 'I, the undersigned, Yaseen Suliman, do hereby make an oath and state as follows... I feel morally obligated to bring the discrepancies and contradictions from what is in the file, compared to what I heard in the proceedings the previous night, to the attention of the judge... The question arose in my mind as to how could the letter sent from Pakistan be dated before the instruction was sent to Pakistan's Ministry of Interior?'
Khalid's lawyer, Zehir Omar, finds the bureaucratic processes in this case perplexing...
Zehir: 'The file reveals, John, that she is, with respect, protecting the Minister of Intelligence because British Intelligence will not phone Minister of Home Affairs, Minister of Police. The only person they will phone is the Minister of Intelligence.'
Dirk Coetzee (former commander, Vlakplaas): 'No that's exactly the way we acted. You know, abduct the guy, afford him no rights and eventually he disappeared.'
Dirk Coetzee has come a long way since his days as commander of the notorious police farm, Vlakplaas.
Sixteen years ago he appeared on Carte Blanche after he exposed apartheid police atrocities. At the time he was living in exile for fear of his life.
He says this scenario is highly reminiscent of the modus operandi of the security police of his day...
Dirk: 'This is a venture that was known up to the highest level, just like in the old days, I can assure you that.'
So, in an attempt to establish who might have been involved at the highest level during Khalid's abduction in Estcourt last year, we contacted the National Head of Crime Intelligence Gathering, Director Willie Els.
John [on phone]: 'Director, if it is convenient for you, I have got a couple of questions. Firstly about your involvement in the arrest of Khalid Rashid on 31 Ocotber last year... Do you recall the arrests in Estcourt? [Hangs up]... So much for that!'
On Friday the South African Air Force finally confirmed that Khalid was indeed flown out of the Waterkloof air force base.
They said he was on a plane chartered by the police and that it landed and took off in the early hours on 6 November last year. No flight plan was filed and the aircraft's registration was not provided.
The Minister of Home Affairs, Nosivive Mapisa Nquakula, will be back in court on Monday 5 June to give more details of the flight on which Khalid left the country...
Meanwhile the Pakistanis who were detained outside the court last Sunday were released by order of the court and, as they were leaving the Lindela cells, they were jeered at by Home Affairs officials and re-arrested.
After an urgent application before Mr Justice Bertlesman they were re-released yesterday afternoon.
IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER:While every attempt has been made to ensure this transcript or summary is accurate, Carte Blanche or its agents cannot be held liable for any claims arising out of inaccuracies caused by human error or electronic fault. This transcript was typed from a transcription recording unit and not from an original script, so due to the possibility of mishearing and the difficulty, in some cases, of identifying individual speakers, errors cannot be ruled out.
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