Krejcir applies for transfer to Johannesburg

CONVICTED underworld boss Radovan Krejcir, pictured, brought a fresh application before the Pietermaritzburg High Court yesterday, applying for, among others, relocation to Joburg.

While the department would not confirm his current location, Krejcir is believed to be at Kokstad’s C-Max Prison – the country’s most secure prison – in KwaZulu-Natal.

KZN Department of Correctional Services spokesperson Logan Maistry said the application was postponed indefinitely by the court to allow the department to file opposing affidavits. “We are opposing all the relief sought,” he said. Maistry said Krejcir was seeking immediate transfer to Johannesburg’s Medium C Prison and that he remain there for the duration of his impending court matters.

Krejcir has also claimed the department was “impeding and interfering” with his rights to a fair trial, the right to be visited by his family, the right to legal representation and that the time he had for legal consultation was being unfairly restricted.

In May, Krejcir’s family released a tranche of correspondence setting out complaints about the conditions under which he was being kept.

It was sent to the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services. The family said he was facing human rights violations and that he had to endure psychological torture by being deprived of family contact and being kept away from interacting with other prisoners. They also said there was vermin in his cell. The department denied all the allegations.

On August 24, 2015, he was convicted of attempted murder, kidnapping and drug dealing and sentenced to 35 years by the high court in Joburg. He is standing trial for the 2013 Bedfordview murder of Lebanese national Sam Issa. The State claims the murder occurred due to a dispute over a R500 000 loan Issa made to Krejcir.

In an unrelated court action, the Czech Republic has started extradition proceedings against him to stand trial for at least four charges of fraud.