Lawyers take detained foreign nationals fight to court

 An urgent application will be heard on Tuesday in the South Gauteng High Court in which lawyers for Human Rights will seek an order granting legal representatives access to foreign national detainees.

According to the lawyers, they have been repeatedly denied access to consult with those arrested during the raids last week Friday and most detainees still have not had the opportunity to speak to an attorney since their arrest on that morning, despite a court order requiring that access be granted.

“Over the last fortnight we have witnessed human rights violations and arbitrary detentions of primarily foreign nationals under the controversial Operation Fiela-Reclaim, culminating in mass-arrests and detentions in the early hours of last Friday,” the lawyers said in a statement.

The raids were carried by the police, accompanied by the army, following weeks of violent xenophobic attacks in parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, which left seven people dead.

Meanwhile, a media briefing has been scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, and will also be attended by expelled Cosatu secretary general Zwelinzima Vavi.