Johannesburg - Radovan Krejcir has won a minor victory regarding his strict prison conditions, and will be given regular phone access, psychological attention and medication.
Krejcir appeared in the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court for his extradition hearing, where he applied to have his stringent prison conditions relaxed.
After a series of alleged escape plots, the Czech fugitive has been kept in isolation, been unable to contact his legal team or relatives, and allegedly denied access to psychiatric services.
However, magistrate Kobie Schutte on Wednesday made an order to the Department of Correctional Services to assist Krejcir.
The Czech will now be able to exchange documentation with his lawyer Frank Cohen during his prison visits, use the prison’s public phones like a regular low-risk prisoner and call his relatives in the Czech Republic.
However, any calls he makes to his mother and financial sponsor Nadezda Krejcirova are are allowed to be recorded by the State.
Correctional Services will need to provide the court with a list of the medication required to treat Krejcir’s manic-depressive disorder at his next appearance, and he has to be given access to a psychiatrist at the prison.
While the proceedings were postponed to December 5, Cohen revealed that an application by Krejcir to review the extradition in the high court - launched in January last year - had been dropped.
Meanwhile, one of his former mistresses had to wait until today to find out if the court will grant her bail after she was charged for allegedly trying to help him escape from prison.
Krejcir, two of his former lovers, Marissa Christopher and Vanessa Naidoo, a suspected gangster and four prison warders have been arrested for an alleged plan to have a group of armed gunmen storm Zonderwater Prison in Cullinan, near Pretoria.
It was apparently set to take place in March this year, but undercover police officers foiled it by posing as the armed gunmen who were to be hired.
While the State has alleged that Krejcir’s mistresses were due to facilitate payments for the plots, both have denied the allegations.
Christopher was granted bail earlier this year. Naidoo was arrested earlier this month, alongside two of the prison warders. The three tried to apply for bail on Wednesday.
Prosecutor Lawrence Gcaba told the court that the Krejcir investigation team had received new information about the three new accused on Tuesday night, and the information had to be verified before the application could continue.
Magistrate Eric Mhlari agreed to grant the State a day to verify the information.
The Star