Lawyers challenge Operation Fiela

The lawfulness of Operation Fiela-Reclaim will come under the spotlight in the high court in Pretoria on Tuesday, with Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) challenging the way in which operations had been conducted across the country.

LHR will ask for an urgent interdict preventing any further operations by the police and the defence force without obtaining the necessary warrants.

LHR will also ask Judge Jan Hiemstra for an order declaring that the way in which the operation has been conducted, is unlawful and unconstitutional and that it targets foreigners under the pretext of a crime “clean-out,” LHR said in court papers.

Following the xenophobic violence in the country in April, President Jacob Zuma appointed an inter-ministerial committee (IMC) to deal with the issue of migration.

Operation Fiela-Reclaim was established as a crime-fighting operation to restore law and order, while targeting specific crimes relating to drugs, prostitution and undocumented migrants.

The LHR said the operation was born as a reaction to xenophobic violence and the president’s “sympathy” to problems associated with migration.

The body was especially concerned about the raid last month in Joburg’s city centre, in which several foreigners were arrested in their homes in the early hours.

LHR Lawyer David Cote said this application wasn’t about stopping government’s ability to fight crime, but to ensure that it was done within the confines of the law. “In the normal course of operations, police must obtain warrants to enter people’s homes. There is no reason why they should not also do so under Operation Fiela-Reclaim,” Cote said.

LHR launched three urgent applications in the high court in Joburg following last month’s raid, as they couldn’t get access to their clients who had been arrested.

Some were deported before their lawyers could consult them. Cote said the violation of the rights of these foreigners was “a reflection of government’s misguided attempt to deal with xenophobia”.

Elzemari Temperman, another LHR lawyer, said in an affidavit following last month’s Joburg CBD raid, they battled to consult with their clients who were detained at a police station, as well as at Lindela repatriation camp.

Those they managed to speak to reported how the police kicked open their doors in the early hours of the morning and how they were searched and their rooms ransacked. Women and children, along with the men, were taken to Joburg police station, where they were made to sit on concrete floors. Others described how they were slapped by SAPS and SANDF officers.

One man said he was told by a soldier to go home (to his place of birth) and if he returned, the soldier would shoot him.

LHR said it had no choice but to launch the application.