Judge dismisses Boeremag trio's plea
THE judge in the Boeremag treason trial yesterday dismissed an application by three of the accused to be declared prisoners of war.
Brothers Johan, Willem and Kobus Pretorius asked the Pretoria high court to afford them protection under the Geneva Convention.
The order would have meant the three would be handed over to the South African National Defence Force.
The brothers insisted they should not be treated as ordinary criminals, but as "soldiers" embroiled in an armed struggle for the self-determination of the "Boerevolk".
The three conceded their involvement in manufacturing home-made bombs, knowing these bombs were to be placed at strategic points.
The trial began more than seven years ago. The state closed its case in June 2007.
Most of the 21 accused have already testified in their defence.
Johan Pretorius was in the process of being cross-examined when he refused to answer further questions about the so-called armed struggle.
The accused face 42 charges ranging from high treason and terrorism to murder. The charges flow from an alleged right-wing plot to violently overthrow the ANC government.
A woman was killed and her husband and children injured when a home-made bomb exploded on a railway line in Soweto in 2002.
Two workers were injured when the Buddhist temple at Bronkhorstspruit was bombed. Property was damaged in explosions at Grand Central Airport and a bridge near Port Edward.
Dismissing the application, Judge Eben Jordaan said there was no evidence civilians had been warned that bombs would explode near them.
Khayo
these guys were so unfair and selfish from the begining, why did they have to kill people, were/are they being ill treated as SA citizens, or they just wanted to ruin the development and growth the country has made so far which they failled dissmally to make during their rilling?????? let them rot in jail if it's possble.Report Abuse