BRONWEN ROBERTS, Johannesburg | Monday 4.00pm.
ALBANIA’S exiled king Leka I arrested on charges of hoarding a large arms cache, was on Monday remanded in custody for a further week by a South African court.
Magistrate George Andrews said that as Leka had been arrested only on Friday, “the state obviously has not had sufficient time to prepare the case.” Under South African law an accused can be remanded in custody for up to seven days before a bail application is made, to allow police to complete their investigations.
By noon on Monday, state and defence lawyers were still to finalise a date for Leka’s next court appearance, likely to be held next Monday or Tuesday.
King Leka, 60, and four bodyguards, were arrested after South African police seized more than 70 weapons and 14,000 rounds of ammunition in a raid on his home north of Johannesburg. In addition to the weapons, police also found 255 unused Albanian passports, 65 used passports, 77 covers for diplomatic passports and 68 passport covers. They also discovered a template to make passports.
The charges of illegal possession of arms and ammunition could carry a sentence of between five and 10 years.
Defence Lawyer Johan Spandenberg said Leka was given notice that his diplomatic immunity was being revoked on the same day he was arrested, and the handful of Albanian exiles who attended the court hearing criticized the manner in which the arrest was made.
“The way it was done was an insult. This is below any kind of diplomacy,” said royalist politician Abedini Mulohosmani, who bears the title of minister of the royal court in exile.
The king would be safer behind bars, state prosecutor Andre Bessinger suggested. “I have been informed that the high consul of Albania has indicated that the king’s safety is at issue. I believe there were threats made on his life,” Bessinger said. — AFP