The treason trial

Abstract

Abstract provided by author

Terrorism is not a new word added to the vocabulary of criminal law it has occurred throughout history. In fact many of our ancestors have been subjected to acts of terrorism. The manner in which terrorists are treated today is confirmed as cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment. Moreover the manner in which they were brought to trial were almost never questioned. However, it seems that not much has changed since then, even though today we have a high regard for human rights, democratisation, the rule of law, fairness and the due process of law

The ruling in the Namibian Supreme Court in the Treason Trial as to the question of jurisdiction was overturned, holding that the Court in fact has jurisdiction to try the accused. As will be seen, throughout the dissertation the Treason Trial is the focus point and even though a range ofissues are discussed it is always linked to the alleged terrorists in the Treason trial

The dissertation is divided into five parts, namely:

The first chapter encapsulates the backdrop to events leading up to the Treason Trial as well as issues dealt with in the Treason Trial. Further it includes the problem statement and the research questions to be answered

The second chapter deals with the analysis of the Supreme Court ruling in the first part of the Treason trial, which held that the court has jurisdiction to try the accused. By relying on a myriad of cases and judicial reasoning it is recommended that the Supreme Court had a discretion to hold that the Court did not have jurisdiction, even where that jurisdiction in fact exists, given the fact that the State came to court with unclean hands

The third chapter deals with the issue of arrest and the difficulty of proving certain facts in transnational arrests. Moreover it also looks at the issue of re-arrest upon release or rather the fact that there seems to be no legal framework in place to challenge an arrest of this nature

The fourth chapter deals with terrorism and the how it is affecting the way in which domestic courts are ruling. It focuses primarily on extradition and deportation proceedings or rather authorities affecting extradition under the mask of deportation. It also suggests a way forward to counter-terrorism

The final chapter suggests recommendations and solutions pertaining to the issues raised in the paper and advocates very strongly the respect for human rights, democratisation, the due process of law, the rule of law and fairness in dealing with (alleged) terrorists.