OWN CORRESPONDENTs, Pretoria | Thursday
AFRIKANER Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) leader Eugene Terre’Blanche has walked out of the Pretoria High Court a “free” man after being released on bail, saying “justice has prevailed” and determined to see that his maize crop is harvested.
His release followed a decision by the Department of Correctional Services to release him on parole after he had served six months of his year jail term for assault, but also after a Pretoria High Court Judge granted an urgent order for his release.
Telling reporters that he was “not bitter, but better”, Terre’Blanche said he would be returning to the Rooigrond Prison in North West with his legal team “to fetch his things” and to sort out certain formalities.
Terre’Blanche is presently awaiting the outcome of his appeal against a conviction on a charge of attempted murder, for which he was sentenced to six years in jail. The appeal is only expected to be heard in the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein sometime next year, and will only centre on the question if he should not have been convicted of assault, instead of attempted murder.
A high court judge last week granted him R5000 bail pending the outcome of his appeal, but Correctional Services refused to release him, saying he had to serve his full six years.
Terre’Blanche did not want to talk politics, saying that it was against his parole conditions in any event.
“Ask me about my horses and my farm. I don’t want to discuss politics now,” he said.
Correctional Services spokesman Russel Mamabolo was fined R2000 for contempt of court after declaring that Terre’Blanche would not be released because the judge was wrong to have granted bail.
Terre’Blanche will have to adhere to strict parole conditions until September 29, whereafter his bail conditions come into effect. He will be regularly monitored by the department, will remain under house arrest and be restricted to his magisterial district.