/ 27 November 2007

Accused’s illness delays nuclear trial

The trial of the Swiss design engineer Daniel Geiges, who was allegedly part of an international nuclear smuggling ring, was postponed on Tuesday because he was too ill to stand trial.

The Pretoria High Court was earlier told that Geiges (69) had been diagnosed with cancer of the rectum and was undergoing ”severe treatment”. A medical said he was unfit to stand trial or prepare for his trial at the moment.

His former co-accused and boss, German engineer Gerhard Wisser, was earlier sentenced to three years’ correctional supervision and a suspended 18-year jail term in terms of a plea bargain with the state.

He also agreed to the confiscation of R6-million in cash in South Africa and to help the National Prosecuting Authority repatriate €2,8-million in assets already seized by German authorities.

He will be confined to house arrest for the next three years and will have to do community service and undergo responsibility acceptance and reality confrontation programmes.

Wisser also agreed to cooperate with the South African police, the Council for the Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction and the International Atomic Energy Agency, and to testify in other proceedings. This might include the trial of Geiges, who has steadfastly denied guilt on a range of nuclear-related charges.

Wisser was the MD of Randburg engineering company Krisch Engineering, and Geiges his chief engineer.

Wisser earlier admitted that he had been involved in the clandestine illegal import, export and manufacturing of components of centrifuge enrichment plants destined for Pakistan and Libya’s now-defunct nuclear development programme.

He admitted to dealing with Sri Lankan businessman Buhary Tahir and Swiss-based German businessman Gotthard Lerch, who in turn assisted Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan in the clandestine acquisition of nuclear technology for Pakistan and Libya.

According to a report by an American nuclear expert, Wisser’s activities could have played a critical role in enabling Libya to produce enough highly enriched uranium for several nuclear weapons.

Judge Khami Makhafola on Tuesday postponed Geiges’s trial to February 5 next year, when he will have to appear in court again to determine the way forward. His bail of R80 000 was extended. — Sapa