the rollback of south africa's biological warfare program

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number of documents during the opening sessions of the trial that had been introduced during in camera sessions of the bail hearing on similar national security grounds that the prosecution had used. 205 The pre-trial legal proceedings in the Basson case underscored the well-known democratic dilemma that protection of civil liberties and the right to free speech often make the prosecution’s job more difficult. However, in a society in the midst of a democratic transition and without historical norms supporting a strong independent judiciary and the right of the public and press to have access to information about the government, the fact that this dilemma was allowed to play out through the courts must be significant. The Basson Trial: 1999-Present 206 The Basson trial promises to be one of the longest and most complicated trials in South African legal history. Basson was initially charged with multiple counts of fraud, murder, conspiracy to murder and possession of drugs (Ecstasy, Mandrax and cocaine). However, the trial was quickly halted by objections presented by his lawyers. In hindsight, the most important objection raised by the defense related to conspiracy to murder charges against Basson for the poisoning of 200 SWAPO prisoners of war in a Namibian detention camp and his alleged involvement in the murder of five other SWAPO members in Namibia. The defense argued that that there was no precedent under South African law to charge citizens for actions in other countries and that a general amnesty issued on the eve of Namibian independence in 1989 protected all South African police and military members from criminal prosecution prior to that date. 207 By the second week of the trial, it had become clear that the prosecution would experience serious difficulties in their efforts to win a conviction against Basson on murder charges. When the trial resumed, the presiding judge, Willie Hartzenberg, ruled that six of the eight murder/conspiracy to murder charges against Basson had to be withdrawn on the grounds that the Criminal Procedure Act did not allow prosecution in a 80
South African court for crimes committed in another country. He also ruled that Basson was indemnified from prosecution by the Namibian amnesty. The judge’s decision to throw out these murder charges was a serious blow to the prosecutions case, since the five murder charges were the only ones that placed Basson at the scene of the crime. 208 These rulings meant that the prosecution would not be able to present accounts of the CCB’s policies or methods of operations, which might have helped in proving Basson’s motives in the remaining 14 murder/attempted murder charges. The prosecutors were surprised by this ruling and have acknowledged that these rulings hurt the State’s case. The ruling was surprising, because the same prosecutors had used a similar approach in presenting evidence in an earlier case against Eugene de Kock, the former head of the CCB. In the de Kock case, the defense had not challenged the prosecutors’ evidence. However, the Basson case is very different from that of de Kock where the prosecution was able to obtain the cooperation of most of de Kock’s 25 subordinates who testified against their former commanding officer. Dr. Torie Pretorius felt that another important difference was the fact that he (Pretorius) had a close working relationship with local authorities and criminal investigators working for the Goldstone Commission in obtaining four witnesses for 100 of the 176 murders counts against de Kock. What Pretorius learned from this experience was that the State would not win with only one cooperative co-conspirator, because the South African legal system was not set up to take on the old military establishment. In Basson’s case, there are no multiple witnesses who can implicate Basson in specific murders. As Dr. Pretorius explained, “Basson was the only common denominator” in most of these conspiracy/murders. The lack of evidence explains why the State did not charge any of Basson’s superiors. According to Dr. Pretorius, the lesson to be learned for prosecutors attempting to win conspiracy/murder cases involving CBW use is that the prosecutor must be at the murder scene as soon as 81
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THE ROLLBACK OF SOUTH AFRICA’S BI
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TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword vii Exec
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FOREWORD We are pleased to publish
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The profile of So
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The Rollback of the South African B
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During WWII, South African Prime Mi
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dollars) estimate to build a CBW pr
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learn first-hand how the Portuguese
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use of chemical and biological agen
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incidents underscored the variable
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Convention (BWC). According to form
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Project Coast, which would countera
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internal suppression of political d
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Malan, and the Minister of Finance,
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The chain of command demonstrates t
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omb could be used to wipe out or in
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tear gas and to incapacitate withou
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In the aftermath of Cuito Cuanavale
Page 39 and 40: confirmed, there is evidence that s
Page 41 and 42: the SSC. At this time, the security
Page 43 and 44: Given the breadth and depth of coop
Page 45 and 46: instruct scientists working with a
Page 47 and 48: the South African President’s off
Page 49 and 50: Mandrax and Ecstasy that were produ
Page 51 and 52: overseas business deals. 114 In Aug
Page 53 and 54: South Africa negotiated the withdra
Page 55 and 56: political party or organization. Pr
Page 57 and 58: nuclear weapons program and Project
Page 59 and 60: TRC, the men who tried to kill Chik
Page 61 and 62: In 1991, Basson began to build Mert
Page 63 and 64: Military personnel from several cou
Page 65 and 66: Meyer, the Acting Defense Secretary
Page 67 and 68: leave the SADF at the end of March
Page 69 and 70: Knobel’s testimony to the TRC, SA
Page 71 and 72: objected to the South African CBM a
Page 73 and 74: Basson and his trips to Libya were
Page 75 and 76: experiences for the military leader
Page 77 and 78: was submitted in 1994). This time U
Page 79 and 80: as the U.S., Great Britain, and oth
Page 81 and 82: investigation phase ended. Initiall
Page 83 and 84: June 1998. However, several weeks b
Page 85 and 86: penalties did finally force him to
Page 87 and 88: public. The State was operating on
Page 89: The limited news coverage of the Ba
Page 93 and 94: ulings excluding evidence, his timi
Page 95 and 96: had asked him to set up a facility
Page 97 and 98: cover illegal personal gains from t
Page 99 and 100: who had detailed knowledge of many
Page 101 and 102: 9. What specifically and when did t
Page 103 and 104: e delivered through food and water,
Page 105 and 106: Reconciliation Commission of South
Page 107 and 108: 41 Interview with Dr. G. Scharf, fo
Page 109 and 110: 56 Mangold, Plague Wars, 243. 57 In
Page 111 and 112: weaponization took place. Donald Ma
Page 113 and 114: home of Jerry Nilsson, who was ques
Page 115 and 116: he still need to raise cash in Sout
Page 117 and 118: military bases and was familiar to
Page 119 and 120: 162 According to Dr. Ian Phillips,
Page 121 and 122: Basson’s arrest was the result of
Page 123 and 124: 200 By the seventh week of the tria
Page 125: 115
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