Two South Africans accused of having links to al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan are expected to make submissions to government on Tuesday as to why they should not be on the United Nations suspected terrorists’ list, South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) news reported on Tuesday.
Junaid Dockrat, a dentist from Mayfair, Johannesburg and his cousin, Farhad Ahmed Dockrat, have been named on the UN Security Council’s list of terror suspects for alleged links to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda and the deposed Taliban in Afghanistan.
The men said they were still in dark about the allegations on Monday.
”We have not been told a thing,” said Muhammed Dockrat, a relative of Junaid Dockrat and his cousin Farhad.
”We are quite stressed out about all of this … we are still in the dark,” he said.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Dockrat family told the SABC that 4×4 vehicles had been parked outside one of the men’s homes at ”odd hours of the evening and each time he walks to the vehicles they drive off”.
They are accused of being ”facilitators and terrorist financiers” for al-Qaeda.
Under UN guidelines, they face the freezing of their assets and bank accounts, and prohibitions on worldwide trade and travel.
South African foreign affairs spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa said on Tuesday his department is still awaiting directives from Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
A legal expert told the South African Press Association on Monday that South Africa — as a member of the UN — would have no choice but to act against the pair.
South Africa has to comply with the UN’s guidelines, said University of the Witwatersrand Law School senior lecturer Mia Swart.
”It is difficult to apply the construct of diplomatic protection to these men … South Africa has to comply with UN guidelines as a member state,” she said. — Sapa