Pretoria – A consular visit by the South African High Commission in Harare to the 70 South Africans being detained on charges of planning to overthrow an African government will take place on Tuesday, deputy foreign affairs minister Aziz Pahad said in Pretoria on Monday.

Pahad said the visit, scheduled to take place on Friday last week, had run into “technical problems” but would go ahead on Tuesday. This is the first official visit by a group of embassy officials to monitor the well-being of the prisoners and to relay any messages.

The department of foreign affairs said, however, that ambassadorial visits had taken place on a number of occasions.

Pahad reiterated that the government would not interfere in the judicial process despite announcements by lawyers representing the alleged mercenaries, that a free and fair trial would be impossible.

SA against death penalty

Pahad added that if the men were found guilty and sentenced to death, the South African government would enter into discussions with the country concerned.

“As you know, we are against the death penalty,” he said.

But until then the trial had to run its course, Pahad said explaining that if the government did intervene it would set a precedent.

“We can’t challenge the capacity of countries to hold fair trials. South Africans are filling up jails in Latin America and Asia with drug related charges,” Pahad said. If the government intervened in one case it would be asked to do so again.

Seventy South Africans have been detained in Zimbabwe on allegations that they were on route to Equatorial Guinea to partake in a coup. Other South Africans are currently on trial in Equatorial Guinea.

Edited by Tisha Steyn

Source: NEWS24.COM
URL: http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/New…/p>