Selebi to be released on medical parole

FORMER national police commissioner Jackie Selebi, convicted of corruption, will be released from prison on Friday, Correctional Services Minister Sibusiso Ndebele announced in Pretoria. "Mr Selebi will be going home today (Friday)," he told a media briefing in Pretoria. "The department has limited capacity to provide for palliative care needed by some offenders," he said.

Palliative care meant Selebi would be kept comfortable until his death, as there was no hope of him recovering. An 11-member medical parole advisory board met on June 20 and recommended the release of six offenders, including Selebi. Three of them had since died, Mr Ndebele said.

The minister said all offender and remand detainees had the right to adequate healthcare services, as enshrined in the constitution. "In terms of the Correctional Services Act, the department must provide healthcare services and refer patients to external healthcare facilities for secondary and tertiary levels of healthcare," he said.

The Correctional Services Act was reviewed, with the Correctional Matters Amendment Act approved in May last year. According to Section 29A and B of the act, an offender, nurse, medical practitioner, spouse, guardian or legal representative could apply for parole on a detainee’s behalf. Criteria for medical parole included a terminal, chronic or progressive medical condition, which had caused permanent or irreversible deterioration to the detainee’s state of physical health.

Medical parole advisory board chairman Dr Victor Ramathesele said Selebi’s condition qualified him for medical parole. "As the medical parole advisory board we examine every applying patient. We went to Steve Biko hospital and found him to be at the end stages of renal disease, undergoing perennial dialysis daily," he said.

James Selfe, Democratic Alliance spokesperson for correctional services, said it was important to ensure that proper procedure was followed when the decision on Selebi’s medical parole was made. "The old criteria limited medical parole to those who suffered from a terminal illness," he said. "This made it hard to determine who deserved medical parole. We need to ensure that procedures to ensure the interests of the victims are considered take place, including a hearing to decide these matters."

Mr Selfe said he would question Mr Ndebele on this in the National Assembly. Selebi was the president of Interpol at the time of the investigation of claims that he received money from convicted drug trafficker and police informer Glenn Agliotti.

He was convicted of corruption on July 2 2010 and handed a 15-year jail sentence. Selebi appealed against the corruption conviction in the Supreme Court of Appeal but his appeal was denied in December 2011. He collapsed at his home in Waterkloof, Pretoria, while watching the judgment on television.

It was decided he would stay in the medical wing of Pretoria Central Prison indefinitely as he suffered from diabetes and kidney disease. Doctors who were treating Selebi at Steve Biko Academic Hospital said his medical management was complicated.

"It was apparent from his admission that Mr Selebi had various chronic illnesses and thus needed constant medical care by suitably qualified practitioners. Because of his poor health prognosis and soaring hypertension levels, as well as unstable and uncontrollable sugar diabetic levels, he was referred to the Steve Biko Academic Hospital on December 12," correctional services commissioner Tom Moyane said at the time.

Source: Business Day

Assange said to be hiding in Britain

An international manhunt is under way for WikiLeaks supremo Julian Assange, who is believed to be hiding in Britain. Interpol issued a “red notice” for the internet whistleblower who is wanted for questioning by police in Sweden after two women accused him of rape and sexual molestation. The 39-year-old Australian was added to the worldwide wanted list amid growing fury in Washington at the mass release of more than 250 000 classified US communiques.

Mark Stephens, Assange’s British-based lawyer, has questioned the timing of Interpol’s warrant, saying his client was being persecuted. But On Wednesday Scotland Yard launched a probe into the fugitive’s whereabouts after it was claimed he was holed up in a secret location in Britain. If he is held in the UK, he could face proceedings to extradite him to Sweden.

Assange lives a rootless life, has hardly any possessions and uses his Australian passport to stay with friends in various countries. Prosecutors in Sweden want to question Assange over alleged attacks on two women during a visit to Stockholm to give a lecture to the Social Democratic Party in August. He is accused of attacking one woman in Stockholm and then sexually assaulting another woman in the town of Enkoping, about 60km from the capital, three days later.

Stephens said his client had repeatedly offered to meet Swedish investigators either at the Swedish embassy in London or a UK police station. “The allegations against him are false and without basis,” he added. “In 28 years of practice I have never come across a prosecutor, whether in the third world or even in a totalitarian regime, where there has been such casual disregard by a prosecutor for their obligations. “Given that Sweden is a civilised country I am reluctantly forced to conclude that this is a persecution and not a prosecution.” He highlighted the fact that the Interpol alert was issued just two days after the WikiLeaks first release of US diplomatic cables.

An adviser to Canada’s prime minister Stephen Harper has suggested Assange could be assassinated. Professor Tom Flanagan said Barack Obama should “put out a contract and maybe use a drone or something” to rid the world of the Australian. Although he later rowed back from the remarks, it shows the growing anger in North America. Former US presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said Bradley Manning, the US army private thought to be behind the leak, should be executed. Manning is in military detention.

In other news, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Wednesday hit out at a “slanderous” leaked cable that described him as Batman and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev as the comic book hero’s sidekick Robin. Putin - widely believed to be the real power broker in the Kremlin - took exception to America’s portrayal of him as being the one in the political tandem who called the shots. Speaking to CNN host Larry King last night, Putin said the caped crusader portrayal was “aimed to slander one of us”. It is the most high-profile condemnation of the leaks. The combative Russian leader hit back after one secret US document released by Wikileaks described him as an “alpha-dog” and another said Russia was a “virtual mafia state”. He said US Defence Secretary Robert Gates was “deeply misled” in saying, according to the cables, that “Russian democracy has disappeared”.

Source: IoL

South Africa’s Ex-Police Chief Sentenced to 15 Years

A South African court on Tuesday sentenced the country's former police chief to 15 years imprisonment after he was convicted of graft and became one of the most senior officials brought to justice for corruption.

Jackie Selebi, formerly a leading anti-apartheid activist and well-connected in the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party, had been found guilty last month of receiving bribes from a drug kingpin.

Judge Meyer Joffe said in handing down the sentence that Selebi had embarrassed the state, the police force and the court. "At no stage during the trial did the accused display any indication of remorse. The accused lied and fabricated evidence in an endeavor to escape the consequences of his conduct," Joffe said. Selebi remains free on bail on condition that he submits an application for leave to appeal against the sentence within 14 days.

Analysts said the conviction of Selebi -- a former president of the international police body Interpol -- was a positive development for the country, showing it was ready to tackle its growing corruption problem. Prosecutors were seeking more than the possible minimum sentence of 15 years in prison. Selebi's lawyers were seeking a suspended sentence and a fine. Last month, Judge Joffe said in his decision that Selebi had received at least 120,000 rand ($16,500) from Glenn Agliotti, a convicted drug trafficker who was one of the main prosecution witnesses. Joffe had found Selebi not guilty of defeating the ends of justice but said he did not find the former national commissioner of the South African Police Service (SAPS) a credible witness.

Prosecutors had contended that Selebi had links to organized crime figures and received about 1.2 million rand to ignore their drug trafficking. Selebi was a close ally of former President Thabo Mbeki and analysts did not expect his conviction to harm current President Jacob Zuma. The ANC has said the guilty verdict showed no-one was above the law in South Africa.

Source: New York Times

Ex-Police Chief in S. Africa Convicted

South Africa's former national police chief was convicted of corruption Friday after a nation beset by crime heard months of testimony about its top cop going on designer shopping sprees with a convicted drug smuggler. The case against Jackie Selebi, a one-time president of Interpol, has been a chief exhibit in a national debate over whether corruption and political meddling is undermining the fight against crime. South Africa's rates of murder and assault are among the world's highest.

Selebi, 60, showed little reaction as the verdict was read, and told reporters he had nothing to say as he left the central Johannesburg courthouse. He was not asked to post bail and is free until his sentence is determined in hearings set to start July 14. Selebi, once an important official in the governing African National Congress, had pleaded innocent. He claimed evidence was fabricated for the charge he accepted money and gifts in exchange for meeting the drug smuggler's business associates and tipping him off to investigations into his crimes. Selebi argued he was targeted by enemies who wanted to punish him for his criticism of an elite and now defunct crime-fighting unit. The unit attached to the national prosecutor's office -- setting up clashes with police -- was known as the Scorpions and disbanded in 2008 after it tried to prosecute Jacob Zuma on corruption charges before he went on to become South Africa's president.

Judge Meyer Joffe, in delivering the verdict, said Selebi's conspiracy theory had no basis, and that the former police chief showed ''complete contempt for the truth'' during the trial. The red-robed Joffe said ruling a witness was not credible ''stigmatizes the person as a liar and a person of low moral fiber. ''Every day, society in general and the courts in particular rely on the honesty, integrity and truthfulness of police men and women,'' Joffe said. Selebi has ''not set an example that should be emulated.''

Johan Burger, a researcher with the independent Institute for Security Studies and a former assistant commissioner in the South African police force, said corruption appeared to be on the rise in the force. But Burger said that was hard to document because Selebi disbanded the police anti-corruption unit soon after he took over the force in 2000. Burger said a public concerned about crime will be left questioning how Selebi was able to get away with wrongdoing for years. ''Although the fact that in the end justice prevailed should in many ways address some of the skepticism in the public's mind,'' Burger said. Burger said many on the force saw Selebi as an outsider imposed on them by the ANC.

Selebi was a former school teacher who in his youth was twice detained without trial for his anti-apartheid activism. He went into exile in Tanzania and later the Soviet Union, where he underwent military training. After apartheid ended in 1994, he was a member of the first all-race parliament, and later served as the envoy to the U.N. in Geneva. Selebi is just one of many prominent ANC members tainted by corruption. In a brief statement Friday, the party said the Selebi case ''clearly indicates that South Africa as a country is governed by laws that are applied without any fear or favor to anyone, regardless of their standing.''

The main opposition Democratic Alliance said it was ''time for the many other senior ANC politicians, not least President Jacob Zuma, who still have unanswered questions about corruption hanging over their heads, to also have their day in court.'' Last April, weeks before Zuma led the party to victory in national elections, top prosecutors dropped corruption charges against Zuma, saying the case had been tainted by political meddling.

South Africa comes in 55th out of 180 on Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index, based on surveys of businesses and experts. That means South Africa is seen as less corrupt as places like Greece, Thailand and Zimbabwe, but worse than Botswana, at 37th the highest-ranking African country.

While convicted of corruption, Selebi was found not guilty on the second charge he faced, defeating the ends of justice. The star witness in the trial, which began last October, was convicted drug smuggler Glenn Agliotti. Agliotti himself faces trial later this year, accused in the 2005 murder of mining magnate and ANC financier Brett Kebble. Agliotti has pleaded not guilty to the charge, claiming the death was an assisted suicide. Prosecutors have said that in return for more than 1 million rand ($130,000 U.S.) in cash and gifts over the years, Selebi did favors for Agliotti, including letting him see documents British police sent to their South African counterparts linking Agliotti to drug smuggling. Prosecutors said Agliotti took Selebi shopping at upscale stores in Johannesburg and London, paying for suits, shirts, ties and shoes. Agliotti also bought items for Selebi's sons, wife and girlfriend, prosecutors alleged.

Source: New York Times

FBI nabs Fidentia fugitive

One of the alleged masterminds in the Fidentia scandal was arrested by the FBI in the United States, the National Prosecuting Authority said on Tuesday. Spokesperson Tlali Tlali said Steven William Goodwin was arrested following a request by the Directorate of Special Operations, better known as the Scorpions.

According to the NPA, Goodwin was detained on Saturday at Los Angeles airport by US authorities and the Customs and Immigration Department. "Their intervention followed an alert issued by Interpol that Goodwin was en route to the US and that a warrant for his arrest had been issued in South Africa in July 2007. "Goodwin left South Africa for Australia in early February 2007, following the appointment of a curator to manage the Fidentia group of companies and before the Scorpions investigation was authorised in February 2007," said Tlali.

Goodwin was described as the "real founder" of Fidentia and has been named repeatedly in a draft indictment against Fidentia boss J Arthur Brown. He left South Africa just days before Brown was arrested in March last year. The draft charge sheet says that at the time Goodwin owned and was MD of a company named Worthytrade 185. Acting as a broker, he initiated the contact that resulted in the Transport Education Training Authority (Teta) entrusting promissory notes worth R100,3-million to Maddock Incorporated in April 2003.

The NPA has 60 days within which to apply for Goodwin's extradition and is preparing papers to launch such an application, said Tlali. "The Scorpions are currently working with the US Department of Justice to ensure the matter is resolved speedily and successfully. Once on South African soil, Goodwin will face charges of theft, fraud and corruption running into millions," he said. The charge sheet says Brown acted "in the execution of a common purpose" with Goodwin in providing a R6-million bribe to ensure that the Teta board made the investment with FAM. Goodwin is also named repeatedly in the section of the charge sheet that deals with money laundering.

Brown will go on trial in September on fraud and theft charges. He is out on R1-million bail.

The financial director of Fidentia, Graham Maddock, was effectively jailed for seven years on 54 counts involving fraud, theft, money laundering, contraventions of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act and the reckless or fraudulent conduct of business.

Source: Mail & Guardian

Let's all arrest one another; South Africa

IT SEEMS, for the moment, as if South Africa's governing class is being engulfed by charges of corruption. Three weeks ago it was the turn of Jacob Zuma, the newly elected leader of the ruling African National Congress (ANC). He was charged with fraud, tax evasion and money laundering and is due in court in August.

This week it was the turn of Jackie Selebi, the head of the police. The National Prosecuting Authority says it will charge him with corruption and "defeating the ends of justice". He has been suspended from his job and he also resigned as head of Interpol, the international police body.

Source: Highbeam

Selebi quits as Interpol chief

Police National Commissioner Jackie Selebi has quit as head of international crime-fighting body Interpol, the organisation said on Sunday.

Source: Mail & Guardian

I'll never be arrested - Selebi

National police chief and Interpol head Jackie Selebi has said he will never be arrested because a warrant does not exist, the early edition of the Sunday Times reported on Saturday. "I will never be arrested... If there is a warrant for me I will stand on the 10th floor of the Sandton Towers so that the Scorpions can arrest me," he told the newspaper.

Selebi was responding to numerous media reports citing reliable sources that the National Prosecuting Authority had obtained a warrant for his arrest last week. A search and seizure document was allegedly also obtained from the Pretoria High Court. "I am not bothered at all. For what must I be arrested? There is no such thing as a warrant. It does not exist. I will not comment on charges as there is no warrant," he said. The question of Selebi's possible arrest follows in the wake of the suspension of National Director of Public Prosecutions Vusi Pikoli by President Thabo Mbeki.

Mbeki suspended Pikoli on Monday, citing an irretrievable breakdown in the relationship between Pikoli and Justice Minister Brigitte Mabandla. On Saturday night, Government Communication and Information System spokesperson Themba Maseko said Mbeki had appointed Frene Ginwala to conduct the inquiry into Pikoli's fitness to hold office. Maseko said the former National Assembly Speaker had been appointed in terms of section 12(6) of the National Prosecuting Act 32 of 1998. "It's (the inquiry) going to be under way soon. I need to meet with the doctor (Ginwala) first and will avail more details on Monday," he said. Maseko said he would address a press conference on Monday outlining the details and format of the enquiry.

Source: Polity

Czech fugitive nabbed at OR Tambo Airport

When millionaire Radovan Krejcir slipped out the back door of his luxury villa near Prague in the Czech Republic, and fled to the Seychelles, a police chief was fired for letting the wanted man escape.

Over the next two years, Czech authorities began losing hope of getting their suspect back as the 38-year-old Krejcir and his family secured new citizenship and settled down in the island paradise.

But in a surprise twist the alleged criminal boss - wanted for fraud and planning a murder - was arrested at OR Tambo International Airport on Saturday.

Krejcir, who appeared at the Kempton Park magistrate's court on Monday, had entered the country on a fake passport, national police spokesperson Director Sally de Beer said. He travelled under the name Egbert Jules Savy and was flying from Madagascar, members of the Crime Intelligence Unit reported. He was nabbed at 5.15pm as he got off the plane. 

Krejcir has been on the run since 2005 and has reportedly made shocking claims of giving bribes to his country's government officials. From his hideout in the Seychelles, Krejcir said a book he was writing would prove to be "the next Watergate scandal" for the Czech government. He has maintained his innocence and benefited from the fact that no extradition agreement exists between the Czech Republic and the Seychelles. "It is believed he intended to settle in South Africa," De Beer said on Monday night. "He is wanted by the Czech Republic on charges of fraud involving hundreds of millions of euros, as well as for conspiracy to commit murder."

Krejcir is suspected of orchestrating a complex fraud scheme in 2004 and 2005. During his court appearance on Monday, Krejcir's identity was confirmed and his case postponed to May 2. He will remain in custody until then.

De Beer said a warrant of arrest would now have to be sent from the Czech Republic, after which the extradition process would start. Interpol had issued a red notice - an international warrant of arrest "with a view to extradition" - for Krejcir, but it seems unlikely that he will be boarding a plane soon.

Extraditions out of South Africa have been put on hold pending the outcome of an alleged stem cell fraud couple's challenge to the extradition agreement between South Africa and the US. If accused stem cell fraudsters Stephen van Rooyen and Laura Brown succeed in their Pretoria High Court bid, which is due to continue on Thursday, every single extradition treaty concluded by South Africa since 1996 would be rendered invalid. 

Source: IoL

Interpol Puts Liberian Ex-Chief On World's Most-Wanted List

Interpol called Thursday for the arrest of the former Liberian president, Charles Taylor, for his suspected role in atrocities committed during Sierra Leone's 10-year civil war. Interpol put Mr. Taylor on its most wanted list by posting a "red notice" on its Web site, alerting police forces around the world to an arrest warrant issued by Sierra Leone in June.

Interpol's notice does little to change Mr. Taylor's status: he has been living in Nigeria since resigning his presidency in August as part of an American-brokered accord to end fighting in Liberia. But the Interpol action does raise the international profile of the Sierra Leone warrant, which Nigeria has so far ignored. "It reminds the world that Charles Taylor remains a fugitive from justice," said Allison Cooper, a spokeswoman for the United Nations court in Sierra Leone, speaking by telephone from Freetown. "It also demonstrates that there's no such thing as amnesty for war crimes and crimes against humanity."

The court, set up in 2000, has argued that because Nigeria is a signatory to the Geneva Conventions, the African Convention on Human Rights and the Rome Statute that created the International Criminal Court, it is obligated to turn Mr. Taylor over for prosecution as a war criminal or try him itself. But Nigeria's president, Olusegun Obasanjo, who granted Mr. Taylor asylum in hopes of neutralizing his influence in the region, has rejected Sierra Leone's extradition request. Mr. Obasanjo has said he might consider a similar request by Liberia, if that country seeks to prosecute its former president. Nigeria's asylum agreement with Mr. Taylor does not shield him from Liberian law.

Mr. Taylor, born to an American father and a Liberian mother, graduated from Bentley College in Massachusetts and worked in the Liberian civil service in the 1980's before he was accused of embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars. He fled and returned in December 1989 to mount a rebellion from neighboring Ivory Coast. From the beginning, his forces were accused of appalling violence. He became Liberia's president in July 1997, though the fighting in the country continued.

Mr. Taylor is charged with training and arming Sierra Leone rebels, many of them children, for that country's long and bloody civil war. Hundreds of thousands of people died during the fighting, and thousands more were left maimed by the Liberian-trained rebels who punished civilians by hacking off limbs. Sierra Leone's war ended in 2001, and its court indicted Mr. Taylor in June. The court applied to become an Interpol member this April, and that process was completed last month, allowing the police organization to post its notice.

As with all Interpol red notices, a photograph of Mr. Taylor appeared on the organization's Web site, with the added warning: "Person May Be Dangerous."

Source: New York Times