Johannesburg - Czech fugitive Radovan Krejcir has assembled a team including some of the country’s top lawyers - among them the EFF’s Dali Mpofu - in a desperate bid to be returned to his home country.
Despite this, Krejcir’s family and another of his lawyers have claimed the Department of Correctional Services has cut off his constitutionally mandated right to contact them by phone. This has essentially prevented him from giving legal instruction for the past few weeks while his family claim they fear for his safety.
Krejcir entered the media spotlight again this month after giving a phone interview from prison in which he alleged he was being kept under inhumane conditions.
Directly after this interview, the department launched a probe to determine how he had been able to contact the outside world and have seemingly added further security protocols, even beyond his status as a high-risk inmate.
While Krejcir has a series of criminal cases pending, in 2016 he was sentenced to an effective 35-year sentence for attempted murder, kidnapping and drug dealing. Since then, police sources have claimed he has made at least four prison escape attempts, leading to a massive security detail following him to each of his court appearances.
This week Krejcir’s family spoke from the Czech Republic, claiming they had been unable to contact him for weeks.
“We have not heard from him since the (media) interview. The prison has been really upset and has not allowed him to call even his attorneys,” said his daughter-in-law, Marlene Krejcirova, on the family’s behalf.
“We have not seen him in over four years and over those four years he has always called us via the public phone over the weekends. We are not sure where he is, if he is alive, if he is in good health or anything that is going on. We have asked someone to try go to the prison for a visit, which was refused. We have sent many emails to the department asking about him but with no response.”
Krejcirova also claimed her father-in-law had not been brought to court for his most recent appearance, increasing their fears for his safety.
Attorney Jeff Mendelson confirmed that he too had been unable to reach his client by phone, saying several attempts to reinstate Krejcir’s contact privileges were refused.
Prisoners’ rights activist Golden Miles Bhudu has thrown his weight behind the Krejcir family’s “legitimate concerns”.
In an email seen by the Saturday Star, Bhudu has threatened the department with a “media campaign to bring to the public’s attention the unconstitutional conditions and treatment of Radavon K”.
The Czech ambassador has also questioned the alleged mistreatment.
However, the department has dismissed the allegations, with spokesperson Logan Maistry claiming Krejcir has been able to contact his attorneys by phone. However, this does not explain the series of emails seen by the Saturday Star between Mendelson and the head of the prison, where the prison head specifically states that Krejcir can only be consulted in person at the prison, even though this would not assist his family in the Czech Republic.
“Communication has not been halted, and is taking place in line with the security classification and relevant policies and prescripts,” said Maistry.
And while Krejcir and his family continue to contest his treatment in prison, he has also been pursuing an attempt to be taken back to his home country to serve the remainder of his sentence.
Earlier this year, the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court ruled that Krejcir could be extradited, leaving the decision in the hands of Justice Minister Michael Masutha.
By August 14, Krejcir had secured the legal services of EFF national chairperson advocate Mpofu and Eric Mabuza, who also represents suspended Sars commissioner Tom Moyane.
In a letter from Mabuza to the justice minister, seen by the Saturday Star, the lawyer asks that Krejcir be extradited to the Czech Republic.
“He now no longer wishes to appeal, challenge or resist the request for his extradition. He is willing to serve the 15-year term of imprisonment imposed on him by the authorities in the Czech Republic as well as to face the new charges therein,” the letter reads.
“We are reliably informed that Mr Krejcir has been a huge financial burden and drain on the fiscus. It is reported that so far his detention and incarceration have cost the South African taxpayers almost R200 million. If true, it is completely unjustified and irrational to spend such an amount of money on one prisoner who is a foreign national for that matter and is in any event wanted in his country,” Mabuza wrote.
The letter demanded that the minister make his decision on the extradition by this week Tuesday. However, Mabuza told the Saturday Star yesterday that no response had been received and that he and Mpofu would pursue a court application in the near future to compel the minister to make a decision.