Yet another delay in start to twins’ trial
LAWYERS for the Thulsie twins, accused of planning terrorist acts, mostly against establishments and individuals identified as anti-Islam, sent the State 300 questions they wanted answered before their trial could start.
The trial against Brandon-Lee and Tony-Lee Thulsie was set to begin yesterday at the Johannesburg High Court, some 39 months after they were arrested.
However State prosecutor Adele Barnard informed the court yesterday of another development that would delay the start of the trial.
Barnard revealed that defence lawyers served the State with a request for further particulars on September 3. These “consisted of about 300 questions’’ and the State had not managed to answer all the questions by yesterday.
Barnard
requested an
additional two weeks to allow the prosecution team to answer the questions.
Defence lawyer Nadeem Mohamed said the parties would return to court on November 13.
A new date for the trial might be set on that day.
Brandon-Lee and Tony-Lee, who cut their usual calm figures in the dock yesterday, are awaiting trial at Pretoria’s Kgosi Mampuru prison.
They abandoned their bail applications in October 2016.
Police arrested them during raids in Newclare and Azaadville, on the West Rand, in July 2016. This was after Tony-Lee allegedly discussed the terrorist plans with an undercover US Federal Bureau of Investigation agent between May and June 2016.
The twins faced accusations of being linked to the jihadist group Islamic State (Isis) and of allegedly planning to detonate explosives at the US embassy and Jewish institutions in South Africa.
The State’s charge sheet, finalised in early 2017, alleged that they were instructed in online chats by an Isis network to carry out attacks.
Their case has been stuck in pretrial stages for many months, urging Judge Raylene Keightley to warn defence lawyers to stop delaying it.
“My observation is that there’s an attempt by the defence to delay by all means,” Judge Keightley previously said.
Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng over the case yesterday.
presided