Twins remain in custody as terror probe widens
THE State has been granted a three-month postponement to continue gathering evidence from international sources against terror-accused twins Brandon-Lee and Tony-Lee Thulsie.
State prosecutor Chris MacAdam said the State would withdraw the charges if no evidence materialised from the countries with which it was collaborating.
The State argued that the postponement was necessary as it needed to consult the governments of the US‚ Britain‚ France‚ Kenya, Mozambique‚ Syria and Turkey to gather further evidence in the case.
Magistrate Peter du Plessis agreed to the postponement, saying that the State had proved that it was not an unreasonable request.
“It’s far more complex to get international collaboration than it is to take a statement from a witness locally. This isn’t just walking into a house and sitting down to question the witness,” Du Plessis said.
“South Africa is part of an international body of nations that has ascribed to a certain attitude towards terrorism,” he said.
Addressing any further issues of a whether or not a premature arrest had been made, the magistrate said this was not the case in this instance.
“The arrest was deemed lawful because they were a flight risk and had attempted to join Isis (the Islamic State), which the UN deems as a listed terrorist organisation, in Libya and Syria.
“It was appropriate to immediately arrest them because they were a flight risk and intended to attack South African targets,” he said.
However, the magistrate made it clear that his responsibility was not to find the Thulsies guilty or not guilty but to deal solely with the matter of postponement.
At the news of the postponement, the twins’ mother burst into sobs.
The State said previously that the US authorities had made themselves available to meet the National Prosecuting Authority and the police during the last week of March to discuss evidence regarding to the case.
MacAdam said he knew that it was unusual to ask for such a long postponement but it was necessary to do so to gather the relevant evidence.
“The major issue relates to securing evidence from a number of international states. It’s an international matter,” he said.
The twins were arrested in July last year in the Johannesburg suburb of Newclare, after the Hawks raided their homes and charged them for planning attacks on Jewish and American institutions.
The Thulsies will remain in custody until the case returns to court on April 25.