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- The former officer of the Security Branch Joao Rodrigues requested a permanent suspension of prosecution in the Supreme Court of Appeals.
- Rodrigues is accused of killing anti-apartheid activist Ahmed Timol on October 27, 1971, at the then John Vorster Square Police Station.
- In 1972, it was discovered that Timol committed suicide by jumping out of a window on the 10th floor of the building.
- However, that sentence was reversed in 2017 by Judge Billy Mothle, who recommended that the NPA continue the criminal case against Rodrigues and two former colleagues.
The Supreme Court of Appeals (SCA) of Bloemfontein will hear an appeal for permanent suspension of the prosecution presented by the former officer of the Security Section Joao Rodrigues against the National Director of the Public Ministry.
Rodrigues is accused of killing anti-apartheid activist Ahmed Timol on October 27, 1971, at the then John Vorster Square Police Station, now known as the Johannesburg Central Police Station.
Timol was being questioned and died while in police custody.
At the time, Timol was claimed to have committed suicide by jumping out of a window on the 10th floor of the notorious building.
In 1972, an investigation found that Timol had committed suicide, but the investigation was reopened in 2017 and the activist was found to have been murdered.
During the investigative hearing in 1972, Judge JL de Villiers concluded that “no living person was responsible for his death” and that Timol was treated in a civil and humane manner by the Security Branch.
During the investigation in 2017, Judge Billy Mothle recommended Rodrigues to the NPA investigation for his role in Timol’s murder.
Mothle concluded that there was a cover-up of Timol’s death and that he was pushed or made to jump out of the window while in the company of members of the Security Branch.
Mothle also ruled that Rodrigues’ former colleagues, Seth Sons and Neville Els, should be charged with perjury.
In 2018, Rodrigues was charged with murder and with defeating or obstructing the administration of justice.
READ | Timol, accused of murder, says he should benefit from an amnesty for crimes before 1994
Rodrigues’ request for permanent stay of prosecution was dismissed by the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg in June 2019.
On Wednesday, the legal consultant of the Southern Africa Litigation Center (SALC) Atilla Kisla said Rodrigues was seeking a permanent stay of prosecution for the alleged violation of his constitutional rights.
“SALC was admitted by the SCA to make submissions in this matter as a friend of the court. On the basis that the appellant’s accused conduct occurred in support of apartheid, SALC held that the murder of Timol amounts to at least three categories of crimes against The humanity.
South Africa has a duty to investigate and prosecute crimes against humanity and that the time period before prosecution cannot violate the right to a fair trial. The alleged amnesty qualifies as a general amnesty and cannot be recognized or applied with respect to crimes against humanity, “Kisla said.
The hearing will take place virtually.
SALC will be represented by advocates Salim Nakhjavani, Bonita Meyersfeld, and Lawyers for Human Rights.
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