LHR’s Operation Fiela bid not urgent – Judge

The High Court in Pretoria yesterday ruled that an application by Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) to stop authorities from using “unlawful” methods during crime busting Operation Fiela was not urgent.

LHR maintained that the police, Defence Force and Home Affairs were specifically targeting foreign nationals under the guise of crime prevention and were acting illegally by searching people and their homes without search warrants and in violation of their constitutional rights to amongst others dignity and privacy.

LHR launched several applications in the wake of a raid by the police, assisted by the SANDF and Home Affairs Officials, on May 8 during which Fatti’s Mansion in central Johannesburg was cordoned off, doors allegedly kicked down, flats searched in the early hours of the morning and a number of foreigners and local residents arrested.

LHR thereafter obtained a number of urgent court orders to ensure access to the persons who were arrested at Fatti’s and also at the Central Methodist Church.

The operation was authorised by the Gauteng provincial police commissioner in terms of the Police Act, allowing areas to be cordoned off and the police to search premises and persons and seize items without warrants to restore public order and ensure public safety.

The police insisted the raid was necessary to protect the public after complaints by the community that criminals were using Fatti’s for illegal activities, including a number of armed robberies in the vicinity.

LHR sought an order to stop the National and Provincial police commissioners from issuing any further authorisations in terms of Section 13(7) of the Police Act for similar raids under Operation Fiela and to stop authorities from using similar methods in the future.

They also wanted the court to declare the past conduct of the authorities unlawful.

Judge Jan Hiemstra said the application concerned a specific incident on May 8, but there was no evidence of a trend to use Section 13(7) or that the situation in the country was such that it may be repeated.

LHR’s national director, Jacob van Garderen, said they planned to continue with the litigation on the ordinary court roll as they believed Operation Fiela had very little to do with the prevention of serious crime in the country, and looked like immigration enforcement dollied up as crime prevention.

He expressed concern that this could take months, while the police continued countrywide to arrest foreigners – many of whom had the right to be in the country and in violation of their rights.