The pre-trial hearing of the Thulsie brothers has yet again been postponed. They were arrested on terror-related charges in 2016. The brothers made a brief appearance at the South Gauteng High Court Thursday morning.
Three years, over 40 delays and the trial of the Thulsie twins is still far from starting.
Tony and Brandon Lee were arrested at their Newclare, Johannesburg home under the Terrorism Act.
Lawyers for the brothers argued that their arrest was unlawful as police only had a search warrant, but the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court ruled otherwise. The pair abandoned their bail application in October 2016 and their trial was set for November that year.
The brothers are charged with contravening the constitutional democracy of the country by attempting to commit acts associated with terrorist activities. They face 12 other charges in total.
Their trial was delayed for the state to gather information from foreign countries.
In September 2017, the USA froze the Thulsies’ assets and imposed sanctions on the two. The defence also challenged the constitutionality of the Terrorism Act.
The matter has now been at the High Court for over a year with pre-trial conferences between the state and defence. The 26-year-olds remain behind bars as they wait for their day in court.
The next pre-trial hearing is set for February.
WATCH RELATED VIDEO BELOW:
