By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
White River Magistrate’s Court banned the media from further publishing photos of the faces of the 95 Libyan nationals arrested at the Milites Dei training centre.
The application was brought by the defence attorneys, Ashwin Kassen and Nico du Plessis, during the accused’s second appearance in court on Monday August 5, and granted by Magistrate Edward Hall.
The men briefly appeared before the White River Magistrate’s Court on Monday morning.
Previously, the matter was postponed for an Arabic interpreter and further investigations
They face charges relating to their misrepresentation of the reasons they came to South Africa in contravention of the Immigration Act.
Magistrate Eddie Halls says the postponement is granted due to no opposition.
“I’m satisfied from the defence that they do not have an objection; therefore, the court does not need to consider in detail the reason for the postponement. It appears that the state is still preferring criminal charges, and there is a request for a postponement.
“I will grant the postponement until 26 August 2024. All the accused persons will be in custody until the next appearance”.
This led to an outburst of chaos in the courtroom, as the men charged with contravening the Immigration Act refused to return to their holding cells.
Instead of getting back into the correctional services’ trucks they protested – chanting ‘Free Libya’ – and sang what appeared to be struggle songs, mostly in Arabic.
Additional police officers had to be brought in to bring the situation under control.
NPA spokesperson Monica Nyuswa says the state will oppose bail at the next hearing.
“When the accused in the matter are bringing in their bail applications, the state will oppose it. Reason being, the accused do not have fixed addresses, and the state has an issue that if they are released on bail, they might evade trial or interfere or commit a schedule one offence.”
Libya is still riven by conflict and civil war more than a decade after the 2011 NATO-backed overthrow of longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi.
The country is divided between the internationally recognised government based in Tripoli and a rival administration in the east.