APPEAL IN ALEXANDER CASE ©
From newspapers just received from South Africa we are able to provide. some additional details about the sentencing of Dr. Neville Alexander and ten other defendants under the fascist-like laws passed by the Verwoerd government to stamp out all political opposition to the notorious apartheid policy. [See World Outlook April 24, J
In summing up the case, Judge H.A. van Heerden.- felt forced to _acknowledge the justice of some of the arguments of the defense, Here are. some of. his. comments:
"Tt has been urged upon the court, and I shall take into con-~ sideration, that the reason you embarked on this course of conduct of which you have been found guilty was as a result of a frustration that you felt about certain laws, as oppressed members of the oom munity and also the frustration of the ineffectiveness of non- European movements to which you-belonged to bring about a change.
"It is not the function of this court, fortunately or unfortunately, to make any finding whether a law of Parliament is oppressive or not.
"This court, nevertheless, accepts for the purpose of sentence that you, as intellectuals, believed you were frustrated and that it turned to this: conspiracy. a eee
"The court also accepts that you were not self-seeking anda believed what you were doing was for others,"
These admissions did not prevent the judge, however, from deciding that the defendants were guilty of a conspiracy to organize guerrilla war; and he handed down savage sentences, (Ten years for Dr, Alexander and four others; seven years for two; and five years for the rest.)
"Some of you engaged in these activities over a fairly long period of time," he said, “and drifted beyond the point of no return
even after you had been warned of the dengers that lay ahead of you, In your case you failed to heed, or ignored the warnings,
"As intellectuals you embarked on this course of action with your eyes wide open. The court must also take into consideration the positions most of you held as school teachers and Don Davis: ag a preacher of the Assemblies of God,
"You were in a position where you could influence and persuade others,
"The court takes into consideration that your course of action was aimed not only at the Government but at White people and your own kind who refused to join the revolutionary movement or who you regarded as collaborators with the Government.
"To me it is a great tragedy. On the evidence you have learnt from the endeavours, hardships and sacrifices made by your own people, You are today in positions where you could have been of great benefit to your own people.
"Tt is tragic” and unfortunate that you should have chosen this way to serve your people, You could have been of much greater service to the Coloured people of this country," [Cape Times April 16. ]
According to the Cape Times, when judgment was delivered, the court "was packed with spectators ~~ Coloured people in the gallery and Whites below -- but there was little emotion as the 11 were sentenced, As the convicted 11 were taken from the dock some of the Coloured spectators stood and waved or gave the thumbs-up sign,"
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In a further development in the case, lawyers filed an appeal on the grounds that written instructions by the defendants to their defense counsel were taken by prison authorities on Robben Island . during the trial and held for more than a day, during \ which time police officials had access to them,
The April 21 Cape Times reported that "Dr. Neville Rdward Alexander, his head shaven and wearing prison clothes, was yesterday called to give evidence. ..
The hearings began before the same judge who pronounced sentence, since permission must be won from him to appeal the sentence.
NDp, Alexander told the Judge," the Cape Times continues, "that when the trial adjourned in December all the accused were taken from Roeland Street Gaol to Robben Island on December 22,
tat their last interview with counsel on December 24 they: were told to prepare full instructions,.~-
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“On January 12, after they had prepared very detailed instructions, Head Warder Venter told them they were going to Cape Town, on: January 13...
"The next morning at 7 a.m. they were lined up and handcuffed,
"tT had in my hand part of the record anda file with written instructions to counsel, Just before we left Head Warder Venter took away the court record and noticed I had the file in my hand, He asked what it was. I told him it was 60 pages of instructions to counsel, ; -
"Chiet Warder Killian insisted that the file had to be read before it could be taken off the island, The Pile was taken away.
after they had been to Cape. Town and seen their counsel they returned to the island at 6 p.m., and he told Head Warder Venter that the Attorney-General had. said. the documents could be returned,
“yventer said the offices were closed and the documents would be returned the next day.
Next morning he told (he thought) Colonel Wessels at the inspection and the colonel said they would be-given back,
"The documents started 'rolling in piece by piece,!
“When he spoke to Chief Warder Killian about it, he said he did not take his instructions from the Attorney General.
"at 5 p.m. that day the 60-page document was handed back by Captain Visser in a disorderly state, Missing from the file were a 90-day detainee statement and a letter he, Alexander, _had written in German to people in Germany.
"Captain Visser said these documents had nothing to do with the trial and he was not returning them,
"Dr, Alexander said he told Captain Visser that the accused feared the documents would be shown to the Special Branch, Captain Visser said if that was the way they felt he was prepared to censor all documents in the presence of the accused, ~
"While they were looking through the file in the presence of Captain Visser they found something in Detective-Sergeant Olivier's handwriting,"
[Newspaper accounts cited by World Outlook April 10 stated that the memorandum was in the handwriting of Detectivée-Sergeant J.P.F, van Wyk of the Cape Town Security Police, an investigating officer in the case, These accounts said that van Wyk was called to the stand and questioned about the memorandum, .He admitted that
the sheet of paper was his and that he last saw it. "In my office at Caledon Square," Nevertheless, he blandly denied that he had read. the instructions written by the defendants for the use of their counsel, |
'nhe procedure after that was that documents were read and put in an envelope, which was sealed and signed and then handed to soun-
"Cross-examined by Mr. J.E.Néthling, for the State, Dr. Alexander agreed he was 'very cross! and refused to accept anything back when the file was seized,
. "He said: 'It is not nice to give evidence against these people to whom I have to go back just now.'!"
According to the April 23 Cape Times J.E,NO6thling argued for. the State on April 22, the third day of the hearing, that there had been no irregularity on the part of the prison authorities,
"The position in this case is that the legal and proper proce~ dure was followed by the prison authorities and there can be no question of irregularity, "
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