Justice for Ashley Kriel
THE INVESTIGATION into the death of Struggle activist and Umkhonto we Sizwe guerrilla Ashley Kriel should, at the very least, be reopened in the interests of justice. There is sufficient prima facie evidence to suggest that Kriel’s death was not an accident.
Last week, the Cape Argus published the views of respected forensic investigator David Klatzow, who has come to the conclusion that Kriel had been murdered.
Apartheid security police officer Jeffrey Benzien told the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) that Kriel died after being accidentally shot during a scuffle with him in July 1987. Benzien was granted amnesty.
There is, however, a growing body of evidence that suggests foul play.
His sister, Michel Assure, visited the scene of his death in Hazendal, Athlone, and spoke of the pools of blood she found, both inside and outside the house.
She also spoke of a gash in his forehead, bloodied clothing and bloodstains on a spade in the backyard.
She believes all of these point to sustained torture and beatings that eventually led to her 20-year-old brother’s death. Her suspicions are supported by Klatzow, who produced photographic evidence of how Kriel’s body was found, with a handcuff still bound to one of his wrists.
Klatzow believes Kriel’s hands were bound by the handcuffs behind his back and he had been shot in the back from a distance, rather than the version Benzien gave at the TRC, which was from close range in the scuffle.
SINCE Klatzow’s opinion of Kriel’s death and Assure’s version of what she found at the scene were published, there has been a clamour for the case to be reopened. An online petition has been circulating too, calling on Parliament to actively engage for the reopening of the case. Kriel’s family has welcomed the measure and any other interventions in their quest for justice.
It has been 29 years since Kriel’s murder, but it can never be too late for justice. We deserve justice for this hero of our Struggle and we support the call for the case to be reopened.