An advocate accused of corruption and defeating the ends of justice said he was surprised by the charges against him, claiming he was assisting police investigators on the night he was arrested.
Eric Bryer, who previously represented Czech fugitive Radovan Krejcir, found himself in the dock last week at the Johannesburg magistrate’s court alongside Pakistanis Iqbal Zahid, Alshaad Ali and Hawashishu Ali Raja.
Speaking to the Saturday Star this week, Bryer explained the build-up to the night of his arrest and his shock at what he has deemed a spurious case against him.
On April 4, Bryer was contacted with information about a new client, Asif Quddos Din, who had been arrested for kidnapping.
Bryer said he understood Din’s brother-in-law, known only as Nadeem, was a co-accused of alleged underworld kingpin Nafiz Modack.
Modack is on trial in Cape Town for extortion and links to the Sexy Boys gang.
When the money Bryer had demanded as an upfront payment to represent Din did not materialise, he was contacted two days later by Nadeem, who promised to pay him.
That same day, Din was appearing in court, where Bryer met him. “Quddos (Din) said to me there was no kidnapping as there was no victim in SA,” he said.
The advocate contacted the investigating officer on the case to inform him about the claim that no one had been kidnapped, but the policeman was insistent that the victim was legitimate and needed to be rescued.
“The next morning, I received a call from Nadeem and he advised that the victim was in Mozambique. I told him to get a photo taken at a place like the Polana (hotel) to prove same. I also requested a copy of his passport to check his movements,” said Bryer.
He had then phoned the officer to ask what proof was required to prove the alleged victim was safe.
The following morning, Nadeem contacted Bryer to tell him that the complainant had called and wanted to withdraw the charge. Bryer informed the officer, even recommending that Nadeem be charged with perjury.
Nadeem called again. “(He) said a guy, Asif from Meyersdal, would bring me the the money plus the complainant. I advised the (investigating officer),” said Bryer.
By 9pm, Asif; the alleged kidnapping victim, Ijaz Rahman, and a man understood to be the complainant in the kidnapping case, Ghulum Murtaza, arrived at Bryer’s home.
“I perused the passport quickly and never saw any stamp of entry in SA I asked the victim where he was (from) and he said he went from Pakistan to Oman, to Malawi, to Mozambique and then came here (the day before)."
The group discussed the withdrawal statement and Bryer contacted the investigating officer to ask him to come to his home and write up the statement.
However, when the investigating officer arrived, a stun grenade exploded as Bryer opened his front gate, with a group of armed police officers storming the property.
A Colonel Neethling from the Hawks told Bryer that he would now be arrested for kidnapping. Bryer and the group linked to the kidnapping case were taken to Norwood Police Station. Bryer was released on warning to appear in court three days later, while the others remained in custody.
This week, Bryer said the other accused had been released on bail of R1000 each, adding: “There was nothing I did contrary to the law and I did not, in my opinion, in any way defeat the ends of justice.”
The case will continue on May 25.