Johannesburg - Radovan Krejcir was supposed to launch an urgent application regarding his prison conditions on Tuesday, but according to his attorney, Correctional Services officials refused to bring him to the court.
Krejcir has been in custody for more than two years, convicted last year on charges of attempted murder, kidnapping and drug dealing. He is on trial for the murder of alleged Bedfordview drug kingpin Sam Issa, and security surrounding Krejcir has been heightened to extreme levels.
On Tuesday, Krejcir’s legal representatives filed papers in the high court in Pretoria for the Czech to represent himself as he begged the court for his strict prison conditions to be lessened.
In the papers submitted to the court, Krejcir argues that his rights of “appeal, dignity, equality, education and the right of reasonable access to his legal representative” have been violated.
He insists that he has been kept in total isolation while in custody, and that the court needs to put a stop to this “torture”.
He has asked to be transferred to a Joburg prison, Centre C Maximum Security Correctional Facility, for the duration of his murder trial and that he be granted full access to his lawyer, which he claims he has never had.
Krejcir also demanded that he be allowed access to a private doctor and psychiatrist at his own expense, as well as the opportunity to have access to his own personal computer and be allowed to video-call his family abroad - also at his own expense.
While the urgent application was meant to be heard on Tuesday, with Krejcir set to represent himself, the Czech’s lawyer, Cliff Alexander, confirmed that the prison authorities had refused to bring him to court, even though the requisition forms had been submitted and an arrangement made with the head of Zonderwater Prison.
The Star understands that the application was rolled over to Thursday and would continue at a prison court.
During previous court proceedings, Krejcir has been brought in chains, an electro-shock belt anda massive contingent of rifle-wielding tactical police officers.
This comes after his alleged multiple escape attempts from prison, one of which was to supposedly involve an armed siege of Zonderwater Prison.
The Star