95 Libyans were arrested on 26 July 2024 when police raided a suspected military camp in White River, Mpumalanga. Picture: Supplied/Saps
The Libyan nationals recently arrested at an alleged military training camp in Mpumalanga refused to return to prison on Monday.
The 95 suspects made their second appearance in the White River Magistrate’s Court on charges of contravening the Immigration Act.
The case was postponed to 26 August for further investigations, much to the dissatisfaction of the Libyan nationals.
Outside of court, the group refused to enter police vans escorting them back to prison in Mbombela and chanted “Libya”.
Shouting through the fence, one suspect, who mostly spoke Arabic, expressed his frustration with not being able to go home.
“Everyone [has] no problem. The problem [is we want to] go home [to] Libya,” the Libyan national told broadcaster, eNCA.
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When asked how he felt about remaining in custody, the suspect said: “Today, [we are not going] home. What [is the] motherf***ing problem?”
A representative from the group’s legal team convinced them to cooperate with the authorities.
“They feel that it’s a very long postponement to remain in custody and they are very unhappy because according to them, they came here to study with legal visas,” said Advocate Nico du Plessis.
“We will take further instructions. They understand now and they will cooperate.”
Du Plessis indicated that the legal team has not held any engagements with the Libyan government, but hoped that the suspects would released soon.
“Not deportation, but maybe they can return willingly,” he said.
The advocate stated that the legal team has been in contact with the Department of Home Affairs since it revoked their visas.
READ MORE: ‘Non-compliant’ security guard training facility turned ‘Libyan military camp’ [VIDEO]
He further confirmed that he was not representing the Libyans on a pro-bono basis.
“No, we have got instructions from a Cape Town firm,” Du Plessis added.
Meanwhile, Mpumalanga police spokesperson Colonel Donald Mdluli said investigations are still ongoing.
“We know that maybe they anticipated to go home. The magistrate indicated that the state has got a case that should go to court and be heard, so I think that might have triggered them being angry.”
The Libyans were arrested on 26 July, following a raid carried out by law enforcement at a farm in White River registered as a security training facility.
Military training equipment, including licensed firearms, and drugs were discovered at the site.
Although it was previously reported that the Libyan nationals held study permits, it was discovered that these visas were obtained through misrepresentation in Tunisia.
Last week, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the South Africa Police Service (Saps) did not rule out the possibility of additional charges after marijuana and cocaine were found at the farm.
An inquiry has been opened to determine whether the drugs, which were sent to the police’s forensic science laboratory in Pretoria, belong to the Libyans.
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