Twins’ arrest lawful
JOHANNESBURG: Magistrate Pieter du Plessis ruled yesterday that twins Brandon-Lee and Tony-Lee Thulsie, who are accused of plotting terror attacks against the US embassy and Jewish establishments in South Africa, were lawfully arrested and kept in custody.
Du Plessis said the issue before the court was whether the arrest of the Thulsie twins was lawful or not. It was his finding that the arrest and subsequent incarceration were lawful.
Last month, the police arrested the 23-year-old twins after they searched their home and found documents that incriminated them in terror plots and plans to join the selfstyled Islamic State (IS) and the Levant.
The pair, who have been behind bars for more than a month, had initially been expected to apply for bail, but instead decided to challenge the lawfulness of their arrest. They claim that because police only had a search warrant, their arrest was unlawful.
But police argued they arrested the pair without a warrant because they had found incriminating documents.
Yesterday, the magistrate said: “Police had reasonable cause to arrest them.”
The magistrate then said the bail application should proceed. However, advocate Annelene van den Heever, for the twins, told the court she wished to take the matter to the high court.
Their tearful mother, Wasiela Thulsie, was in the public gallery. Other family members were seen consoling her.
Outside the court, National Prosecution Authority spokesperson Phindi Louw welcomed the ruling. “It had been our argument all along that the twins were lawfully arrested.”
The court adjourned until Friday and the twins were remanded.