Johannesburg – A legal battle has broken out between Czech fugitive Radovan Krejcir and the head of the prison in which he’s jailed.
Krejcir has accused Leeuwkop prison boss Anthony Gina of denying him access to his legal team to prepare for his criminal trials and extradition because he is a “flight risk”.
Krejcir, who has been incarcerated at the Joburg prison, is also accusing the Department of Correctional Services of prohibiting him from studying towards his law degree with Unisa and for not providing him with a computer in his single cell.
He also protested that Correctional Services refused to provide him an orthopaedic bed and a USB.
He also wanted the department to allow him to listen to music; have access to the kiosk; and write Christmas letters to his family.
These details are contained in urgent papers he filed in the Joburg High Court on Monday last week, appealing to the court to force Gina to allow him to consult his lawyers so he could have fair trials, one of which was supposed to start on Wednesday.
Krejcir was sentenced to 35 years behind bars in August 2015 after being found guilty of attempted murder, assault and kidnapping, among other charges.
He has also demanded that Gina and his colleagues be charged with contempt of court for not obeying previous courts, which he previously obtained from Kempton Park magistrate’s court and Joburg High Court, forcing them to allow him access to his legal team.
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Krejcir’s lawyer, Nastasja Tillieen Otrebski, said she was instructed by Krejcir’s family on February 8 to represent him so he could get a fair trial because his rights have been infringed on by Gina.
She said on February 9, she was refused access to Krejcir before his trial commenced at the high court.
She also said the judge gave her permission to consult Krejcir the following day in court, but when she arrived there, she was forcefully removed from the courtroom by prison officials, adding that when she was being removed Krejcir stood up and told her that the prison officials had ordered him not to talk to her.
She said she later agreed with the officials that she would make an application to come to prison and consult Krejcir on February 12, on condition that she had made prior arrangements with Gina.
Otrebski said after submitting the application, she went to the prison but was denied access by officials, who told her that her details were not recorded in the consultation book.
They advised her to contact the verification officer who turned out to be on leave. Otrebski said she contacted a senior prison official on February 15 to allow her to make a telephone consultation with Krejcir, but he refused, arguing that the Czech was a flight risk.
Krejcir’s legal battle with the Department of Correctional Services started about three years ago when he filed court papers that he no longer wanted to sleep on a sponge mattress and wanted an orthopaedic bed because he was diagnosed with back pain.
The department raised concerns that the bed might be used to hide things that could compromise the security of their centre.
Correctional Services spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo dismissed as untrue the allegations that they denied Krejcir access to his legal team.
“One of the requests registered by Radovan Krejcir was to telephonically consult with a legal representative based in Czech Republic. This was denied due to the following reasons: a) a legal practitioner must lodge proof of his or her identity and status as legal practitioner at the request of the Head of the Correctional Centre; b)Such consultation must take place only between 08h00 andn 15h30; c)The consultation must take place in sight, but out of earshot of a correctional official,” he said.
Nxumalo added that a correctional facility will never permit any individual to consult inmates outside the provided legal provisions.
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“Allowing an inmate to consult telephonically without even having proof that he is talking to a lawyer will be a breach of policy, Officials who escort inmates to court can never allow individuals to consult with an inmate without prior approval,” he said.
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