Radovan Krecjir back in court

Krejcir and Desai Luphondo were sentenced to 35 years in prison, while the other four co-accused were sentenced to 15 years for drug dealing, kidnapping and attempted murder.

In August 2015, the six men were found guilty of kidnapping and torturing Bheki Lukhele after his brother disappeared with a consignment of 25-kilograms of crystal meth.

The defence for all six accused stated that Judge Collin Lamont may have erred in his judgment and that another court may come to a different conclusion.

On the attempted murder charge, the defence said there was no evidence proving that there was an intention to kill Lukhele.

Desai Luphondo's lawyer Anneline Van der Heever told the court that Lukhele had primary burn wounds and the state didn't prove that his injuries could have led to his death. 

Van der Heever argued that the intention was never to kill Lukhele, but that he was kept and assaulted to find his brother.

Radovan Krejcir's lawyer, James Grant, said his client was denied a fair trial, because he had to represent himself for most of the sentencing proceedings 

He also submitted that Krejcir was denied access to see his lawyers.

Furthermore, he said, the fact that Krejcir was cuffed and chained during sentencing could have led to the perception that he was dangerous and this could have influenced sentencing.

In a separate case against Krejcir and 4 others accused of murdering Lebanese national and alleged drug king pin Sam Issa, Judge Collin Lamont postponed the matter to 20 April for a trial date.

Edited by Marius van der Walt