Lawyer details O’Sullivan’s ‘unlawful’ arrest

JOHANNESBURG: A docket alleging serious offences against the state was opened against forensic investigator Paul O’Sullivan a week after he was arrested on an immigration charge.

This was revealed in a series of letters O’Sullivan’s attorneys sent to the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) advocate Sello Maema and Gauteng head of the Hawks Prince Mokotedi, indicating that they believe O’Sullivan’s arrest was unlawful.

In the letters, attorney Darryl Furman indicates the complainant in the case against O’Sullivan was now retired head of detectives LieutenantGeneral Vinesh Moonoo, the same officer who O’Sullivan publicly stated on numerous occasions he was investigating for corruption.

But according to Moonoo, he did not open any case against O’Sullivan earlier this month. “He is possessed with me,” Moonoo said of O’Sullivan. “I opened a case against him a while back with the inspector-general of intelligence for the interceptions of monitoring act.”

He said this was because O’Sullivan was in possession of recordings of some of his phone calls.

Furman said in a letter that the case in which they believe the complainant is Moonoo was opened at Pretoria Central police station a week after O’Sullivan was arrested for an immigration offence.

Furman states in the letters that when O’Sullivan was arrested, he had not been interrogated on the charges of breaking immigration law, but on more serious charges.

“We, therefore, record that what has been taking place since April 1, 2016 clearly amounts to nothing more that a well-orchestrated campaign of unlawful arrest, detention, torture, interrogation, defamation and vilification of our client,” Furman said.

O’Sullivan was told that he was being investigated for five charges: corruption, defeating the ends of justice, contraven- tion of the protection of information act, contravention of RICA, and espionage.

Furman said there were no further details given by the Hawks on any of these alleged crimes.

“Needless to say, our client vehemently denies these absurdly false allegations.”

The attorney said these allegations, coupled with their client’s “unlawful arrest, detention and torture” were intended to punish O’Sullivan and exact revenge.

He said it was common cause that O’Sullivan had opened “a plethora of serious criminal cases against Moonoo and other senior police officials since 2012”.

The letter also shares some of the questions police put to O’Sullivan during his interrogation.

They asked him if intelligence officers had supplied him with information, if he knew Lieutenant Boitumelo Ramahlaha, who opened a case of defeating the ends of justice against head of the Hawks Berning Ntlemeza, and if he had paid any police officer to assist him in investigations.

Police spokesperson Hangwani Mulaudzi said the Hawks had agreed with O’Sullivan and his lawyers that they would not engage the media.

“We are respectfully sticking to that agreement.”

Needless to say our client vehemently denies these false allegations