Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Krejcir extradition fight
Czech hires high-powered legal team that includes EFF’s Dali Mpofu
CZECH fugitive Radovan Krejcir has assembled a team of the country’s top lawyers – including the EFF’s Dali Mpofu – in a desperate bid to be returned to his home country.
Krejcir’s family – who claim they fear for his safety – and one of his lawyers have claimed the Department of Correctional Services has withdrawn his constitutional right to contact them telephonically, preventing him from giving legal instruction for the past few weeks.
Krejcir entered the media spotlight again this month after giving a telephone interview from prison, where he alleged he was being kept under inhumane conditions.
Directly after the interview, the department launched a probe to determine how he had been able to contact people outside prison and has apparently added further security protocols to those implemented in line with his status as a high-risk inmate.
Krejcir has a series of cases pending against him and in 2016 he was sentenced to an effective 35 years in prison for attempted murder, kidnapping and drug dealing. Since then, police sources have said he has made at least four attempts to escape, leading to a massive security detail accompanying him to court appearances.
This week Krejcir’s family spoke from the Czech Republic, claiming they had been unable to contact him for weeks.
“We have not heard from him since the interview (from prison). The prison... has not allowed him to even call his attorneys. We... asked someone to go to the prison for a visit, which was refused. We have sent many emails to the department asking about him but have had no response,” said his daughter-in-law, Marlene Krejcirova, who claimed Krejcir had not been brought to court for his most recent scheduled appearance, increasing their fears for his safety.
Krejcir’s attorney, Jeff Mendelson, confirmed he too had been unable to phone his client and that several requests for Krejcir’s contact privileges to be reinstated had been turned down.
Prisoners’ rights activist, Golden Miles Bhudu, has thrown his weight behind the Krejcir family’s “legitimate concerns” and has threatened to start a media campaign to highlight Krejcir’s alleged mistreatment.
The Czech ambassador has questioned the conditions under which Krejcir is imprisoned.
The department has denied mistreating Krejcir, with spokesperson Logan Maistry saying Krejcir has been able to phone his attorneys.
Krejcir is continuing with his quest to serve the remainder of his sentence in the Czech Republic. Earlier this year, the Kempton Park Magistrate’s court ruled that he could be extradited, leaving the decision in the hands of Justice Minister Michael Masutha.
On August 14 Krejcir secured the legal services of EFF national chairperson advocate Mpofu and Eric Mabuza, who is representing suspended Sars commissioner Tom Moyane. In a letter from Mabuza to Masutha, the lawyer said “he (Krejcir) now no longer wishes to appeal, challenge or resist the request for his extradition. He is willing to serve the 15-year term of imprisonment imposed on him by the authorities in the Czech Republic”.
The letter demanded that the minister make a decision on the extradition by this past Tuesday. However, Mabuza said yesterday no response had been received and that he and Mpofu would pursue a court application in the near future to compel the minister to make a decision.