The Correctional Services Department declined to comment on Tuesday on reports that two alleged Boeremag members are bound in handcuffs at all times at the C-Max prison in Pretoria.
”We do not discuss security arrangements concerning any inmate with the media,” said spokesperson Manelisi Wolela.
This came after the Afrikaans daily Beeld reported that the men, Herman van Rooyen (33) and Rudi Gouws (28) who were re-arrested early on Saturday morning, were handcuffed throughout the day while inmates in the same cell were not.
Their lawyer, Paul Kruger, said he raised the issue with prison authorities and the authorities told him [Kruger] they would investigate.
Van Rooyen and Gouws appeared in the Pretoria Regional Court on Saturday.
The case was postponed until January 29, when they will rejoin their 20 co-accused in the dock in the Pretoria High Court.
The pair escaped on May 3 2006 from the Pretoria court where they were on trial for treason, sabotage and murder.
They were re-arrested at a townhouse complex in Lyttelton, Pretoria — a week after the arrest of Pretoria couple Jacobus and Elizabeth Bogaards for allegedly aiding and abetting them. The fugitives were thought to have camped in a tent pitched on their property. A motorbike registered in Van Rooyen’s name was found on the premises.
The Bogaards were released on R10 000 bail each on Monday.
The accused are believed to be members of the Boeremag organisation, a right-wing group which allegedly plotted to sow chaos throughout the country in a bid to topple the government. – Sapa