Pretoria - Five current and former inmates at Leeuwkop Maximum Correctional Centre suing the department for alleged tortured by prison officials were back in the South Gauteng Hight Court, Johannesburg, yesterday.
The group claimed that in August 2014 they sustained injuries at the hands of the officials while they were inmates at Leeuwkop.
According to the prisoners, they were brutally tortured, including being stripped naked and electrocuted under water.
They also alleged that they were forced to squat, defecate and do handstands for prolonged periods of time.
They said dogs were set upon them at one point, and they were instructed to lie down while an official walked on their necks and electrocuted their backs.
Four of the five inmates said they were unlawfully placed in solitary confinement, shackled and left without any bedding or medical treatment for the injuries they sustained.
In 2015, the plaintiffs instituted action against the minister of justice and correctional services in his capacity as the employer of officials at Leeuwkop for the extensive physical and psychological injuries and suffering caused by the alleged torture carried out by the officials. Lawyers for Human Rights said this matter involved consideration of intentional state conduct regarding the elements of the crime of torture under the Prevention of Combating and Torture of Persons Act, and was the first type of case of this nature heard in local courts.
“A successful outcome will be precedent setting and is vital as it requires the court to consider South Africa’s clear, binding international treaty obligations that we are obliged to respect and uphold in respect of protection against torture,” the organisation said.
It added that, most importantly, the case highlighted the right to human dignity, freedom and security of person, as well as redress.
Nabeelah Mia, penal reform attorney at Lawyers for Human Rights, said: “We hope that this matter will see the beginning of accountability of state officials, especially correctional services officials, for the crime of torture.”
She said there could be no end to torture without it being adequately addressed by criminal sanction and adequate redress for victims.
The trial started in 2019, but it was delayed multiple times during the Covid-19 pandemic. The parties delivered their final arguments to the court yesterday. The department denied allegations of torture, but it said the officers were constrained to take precautionary measures, including force, to defend themselves as inmates used objects to jam a cell gate to prevent the officials from conducting a search.
Counsel acting for the inmates argued yesterday that torture was recognised as the infliction of severe pain and suffering, whether physical or mental, in accordance with the Torture Act. The court was told that the inmates’ evidence proved the elements of torture as stated in the act.
It was asked to accept the evidence of independent medical experts, who confirmed the injuries the inmates suffered were as a consequence of being assaulted.
It was argued that the independent doctors used by correctional services at the prison failed to record the injuries of the inmates on the day of the incident.
Their lawyer said the only conclusion to be drawn was that they were part of a “cover-up” after the assault.
The matter is proceeding.
Pretoria News