Europe's news in English

COPY LINK

CRIME

Murder case of Swedish honeymooner postponed

The murder case of three men accused of killing a Swedish honeymooning tourist was postponed in Cape Town on Monday for a week to allow further investigation and finalise a plea bargain with one of the accused.

Published: 29 November 2010 10:50 CET
Updated: 29 November 2010 12:50 CET

Murder case of Swedish honeymooner postponed

“The matter is remanded until next Monday,” magistrate Jackie Redelinghuys told the court, ordering the three suspects back into custody.

The three are charged with murdering 28-year-old Anni Dewani after hijacking the taxi in which she was travelling with her British husband on November 13 on the outskirts of Cape Town.

William da Grass, attorney for one of the accused Zola Tongo, told the court that negotiations for his client to agree to a plea bargain turn state witness could be finalised by Monday. Tongo was the driver of the vehicle in which the couple were abducted.

“The possibility exists…that we may possibly conclude these negotiations and the plea bargain come the next appearance,” Da Grass told the Wynberg regional court.

Newlywed husband Shrien Dewani was released unhurt on the outskirts of Cape Town, but his wife was kidnapped and shot dead. Her body was later found in the hijacked vehicle in an impoverished township neighbourhood.

She was also robbed of a Giorgio Armani ladies wristwatch, a white gold and diamond bracelet, a handbag and a BlackBerry mobile telephone, the charge sheet states.

Tongo, along with Mziwamadoda Qwabe, 25 and Xolile Mngeni, 23, are charged with murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and kidnapping.

The charge sheet states that “the murder was planned or premeditated and committed by a person, group of persons or syndicate acting in the furtherance of a common purpose of conspiracy.”

If negotiations with the state are successful, Tongo’s attorney said his client’s plea and sentencing could take place on Monday. A police identity parade took place at the weekend but Dewani did not attend, local media reported.

“My client has not been asked to come to South Africa. He has not been asked to participate in an ID parade and he is not in South Africa,” Billy Gundelfinger, a South African lawyer acting for Dewani told South Africa’s Sunday Times.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.

Become a Member to leave a comment.

'Very little debate' on consequences of Sweden's crime and migration clampdown

The Liberties Rule of Law report shows Sweden backsliding across more areas than any other of the 19 European Union member states monitored, fuelling concerns that the country risks breaching its international human rights obligations, the report says.

“We’ve seen this regression in other countries for a number of years, such as Poland and Hungary, but now we see it also in countries like Sweden,” says John Stauffer, legal director of the human rights organisation Civil Rights Defenders, which co-authored the Swedish section of the report.

The report, compiled by independent civil liberties groups, examines six common challenges facing European Union member states.

Sweden is shown to be regressing in five of these areas: the justice system, media environment, checks and balances, enabling framework for civil society and systemic human rights issues.

The only area where Sweden has not regressed since 2022 is in its anti-corruption framework, where there has been no movement in either a positive or negative direction.

Source: Liberties Rule of Law report

As politicians scramble to combat an escalation in gang crime, laws are being rushed through with too little consideration for basic rights, according to Civil Rights Defenders.

Stauffer cites Sweden’s new stop-and-search zones as a case in point. From April 25th, police in Sweden can temporarily declare any area a “security zone” if there is deemed to be a risk of shootings or explosive attacks stemming from gang conflicts.

Once an area has received this designation, police will be able to search people and cars in the area without any concrete suspicion.

“This is definitely a piece of legislation where we see that it’s problematic from a human rights perspective,” says Stauffer, adding that it “will result in ethnic profiling and discrimination”.

Civil Rights Defenders sought to prevent the new law and will try to challenge it in the courts once it comes into force, Stauffer tells The Local in an interview for the Sweden in Focus Extra podcast.

He also notes that victims of racial discrimination at the hands of the Swedish authorities had very little chance of getting a fair hearing as actions by the police or judiciary are “not even covered by the Discrimination Act”.

READ ALSO: ‘Civil rights groups in Sweden can fight this government’s repressive proposals’

Stauffer also expresses concerns that an ongoing migration clampdown risks splitting Sweden into a sort of A and B team, where “the government limits access to rights based on your legal basis for being in the country”.

The report says the government’s migration policies take a “divisive ‘us vs them’ approach, which threatens to increase rather than reduce existing social inequalities and exclude certain groups from becoming part of society”.

Proposals such as the introduction of a requirement for civil servants to report undocumented migrants to the authorities would increase societal mistrust and ultimately weaken the rule of law in Sweden, the report says.

The lack of opposition to the kind of surveillance measures that might previously have sparked an outcry is a major concern, says Stauffer.

Politicians’ consistent depiction of Sweden as a country in crisis “affects the public and creates support for these harsh measures”, says Stauffer. “And there is very little talk and debate about the negative consequences.”

Hear John Stauffer from Civil Rights Defender discuss the Liberties Rule of Law report in the The Local’s Sweden in Focus Extra podcast for Membership+ subscribers.

Url copied to clipboard!