A BRITISH spy, held for 135 days in prison after making the mistake of coming to South Africa on holiday, was freed this week when a Kempton Park magistrate refused a United States application for his extradition.
Paul Grecian was freed by magistrate Danie Oberholzer, who said the offences Grecian had been charged with in the US were not crimes in South Africa.
Grecian is the man credited with having tipped off British Intelligence officers of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s plan to build a super gun. He is wanted in the US in connection with allegations of illegal arms dealing.
Grecian had come to South Africa to visit his girlfriend, and says he was assured by the local representative of Interpol he would not be arrested. He was arrested at Johannesburg International Airport on his arrival.
l The Department of Correctional Services’ report into the jailbreak by four Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging bombers is complete, and will be released after approval by the Commissioner of Correctional Services, department spokesman Chris Olckers said this week.
Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services has been expecting the report since its imminent arrival was announced two weeks ago. Committee chair Carl Niehaus said he had heard the original draft of the report had been inadequate and was referred back to the investigators, though Olckers denied this.
Since their escape nearly two months ago, all four men have been found guilty in absentia on multiple counts of murder.
Police spokesman Faizel Kader declined to comment on the progress in the hunt for the bombers for fear of hindering the investigation.