They say warders beat them at the Sidvwashini Correctional Facility. They told magistrates they now feared for their safety.
The accused, described in local media as members of the
Swaziland Youth Congress, one of a number of pro-democracy groups banned in
Swaziland, are Mfanawenkhosi Mbhunu Mtshali, 37, of Gobholo, Derrick Dickson
Nkambule, 47, of Mgababa and Maxwell Manqoba Thandukukhanya Dlamini, 23.
They appeared before Magistrate Ndumiso Shongwe last week
and claimed to be beaten and subjected to harsh treatment and were denied
medical treatment.
Dlamini, who is the Secretary General of SWAYOCO, also said
he was beaten by an officer from the Correctional Facility just as he was about
to enter the court.
The Swazi Observer newspaper reported he told Magistrate
Shongwe that he had been beaten by an officer because he refused to have chains
on his legs untied as it was normal that they entered in court with the chains.
The chief escort from the Correction Facility, whom the
newspaper did not name, told the court the three men had caused trouble in
prison because they ‘sometimes sang struggle songs whilst in the cell and
disrupted other inmates’.
The three men are charged under the Suppression of
Terrorism Act 2008 and the Sedition and Subversive Act of 1938. They are
alleged to have taken part in an illegal demonstration on 19 April 2013 and
carried a huge banner inscribed with ‘subversive material’.
They were remanded back in custody pending committal to
the High Court.
See also
POLICE BREAK UP ELECTION MEETING
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