Legislation has been tabled in the South African Parliament which gives the Safety and Security Minister the power to declare an organisation to be a terrorist group by notice in the government gazette.
The Anti-Terrorism Bill, however, curtails the minister’s powers in this regard. He may declare an organisation terrorist if that organisation “is an international terrorist organisation in terms of a decision of the Security Council of the United Nations”.
But he may also declare an organisation as terrorist “if there are reasonable grounds for believing that the organisation or any of its members claimed responsibility for a terrorist act or committed a terrorist act or endangered the security or territorial integrity of the country or another country”.
A terrorist organisation may apply within 60 days to the High Court for an interdict prohibiting the proposed declaration. A terrorist act is defined as “an unlawful act, committed in or outside the republic”.
One of the provisions of the Bill is that anyone who knowingly “does anything to support a terrorist organizsation economically or in any other way” is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 15 years.
The legislation appears not to specify a maximum 48-hour period of detention — as specified in previous drafts of the legislation — but says a judge may order that a person be detailed in custody or released on bail or on warning.
A person to be detained must be informed that he or she has the right to retain a legal practitioner at any stage of the proceedings, to communicate and be visited by his or her spouse, partner or next of kin, chosen religious counsellor and chosen medical practitioner.
A police officer may for the purpose of investigating an offence under this legislation apply to a judge for an order for the gathering of information. A judge may issue a warrant for the arrest of the person named in an order for the gathering of information the judge is satisfied — on information in writing and under oath that the person is evading service of the order – he or she is about to abscond or did not attend the examination (of the order).
The legislation is expected to be passed by Parliament this year. – I-Net Bridge