Lawyers for Human Rights condemns unlawful police action towards foreign nationals

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) strongly condemns the heavy-handed and unlawful actions of members of the South African Police Service against foreign nationals in South Africa. A recent example that was brought to our attention was the arrest of a prominent member of civil society in South Africa. On Friday, 26 January 2007 Emmanuel Hlabangani, a senior consultant with Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, was arrested and charged with being an illegal foreigner despite presenting his passport and valid permit to the arresting officers. He was further accused of interfering with an investigation when officers ignored his offers to obtain the valid passport and permit a passenger in his vehicle. This follows the unlawful deportation last week of another active Zimbabwean human rights activist by the South African Police Service. Once again in this case a valid asylum seeker permit was presented to the arresting officers which was confiscated and ignored. Within hours of his arrest he had been deported to Zimbabwe where he risked being identified and persecuted by the Zimbabwean government. LHR regularly comes across cases of unlawful arrests of foreigners with valid permits, including recognized refugees and children. The police actions reveal a general ignorance of the law, hostile attitude towards foreigners and an endemic culture of corruption. The Refugees Act of South Africa specifically prohibits the arrest and deportation of recognized asylum seekers and refugees. This reflects South Africa’s international obligations to protect those who have been victims of persecution as well as towards foreign nationals legally within its borders. In light of the spate of unlawful arrests and deportations of Zimbabwean political opponents SAPS and other government officials risk creating the perception that Zimbabwean human rights activists are being treated with political bias. In addressing these actions, LHR strongly urges the South African Police Service to respect the rights of foreign nationals including refugees and asylum seekers in South Africa. Further, we call on the Department of Home Affairs to give proper direction and assistance to police when dealing with foreign nationals. Lastly we urge the senior management of SAPS to investigate and ensure that those officers abusing their authority face disciplinary action. For further inquiries, please contact Adv. Jacob van Garderen at 082 820 3960 or Adv. Rudolph Jansen at 012-320 2943 or