Ziyadh Hoorzook granted bail, family ‘traumatised’ by arrest [VIDEO]

A 35-year-old man accused of terror financing’s release on R30,000 bail has come as a relief to his family, who have been left traumatised by his arrest over what they call “an innocent donation.”

South African national Ziyadh Hoorzook appeared in the Litchenburg Magistrates Court in the North West on Tuesday, where Magistrate Joshua Lebombo handed down the bail judgement.

Watch Magistrate Joshua Lebombo deliver the bail judgement

Ziyadh Hoorzook accused of terror financing was released on R30,000 bail which has come to the relief of his family who have been left traumatised by his arrest for “an innocent donation” #ZiyadhHoorzook @TheCitizen_News pic.twitter.com/1w49qngPJO

— 𝙵𝚊𝚒𝚣𝚎𝚕 𝙿𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚕 ⚡️ (@FaizelPatel143) January 29, 2025

Bail

Hoorzook was granted bail after Lebombo found that he was able to show exceptional circumstances for his release.

“The state has failed to prove, on the balance of probabilities, the factors or grounds as stipulated in Section 64a of the Criminal Procedure Act, which is the cornerstone of our law for the purpose of the bail application, which justifies the release of the accused on bail.

“All these factors collectively weigh more in favour of the applicant being admitted to be released on bail, and therefore, the applicant’s release on bail will be in the interests of justice. As a result, bail is granted,” Lebombo ruled.

Lebombo postponed the matter until March 3 for further investigation.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, Sivenathi Gunya, said Hoorzook was released on condition that he report to the Sandton Police Station every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday between 6am and 5pm.

ALSO READ: WATCH: Ziyadh Hoorzook accused of funding terrorism back in court for bail

‘Innocent donation’

Hoorzook’s attorney Yousha Tayob told The Citizen it was an innocent donation by Hoorzook.

“In essence, there was a call for charity. He was provided with an e-wallet address in 2017, made the payment into the e-wallet address and then, arbitrarily, the US in 2020 declared this e-wallet to be a terror-related account, and he’s now charged for it.

“We know that the advertisement on which the state relies to persecute him only came out in March 2018 and possibly even June 2019. At the earliest, al-Sadaqah only appeared on social media in March 2018, and that ad had a date in June 2019. So the state is relying on an annexure for the transaction in 2017 that did not exist,” Tayob said.

‘Family traumatised’

Tayob said Hoorzook’s family are not coping with his arrest.

“The family is traumatised by this persecution? It was a donation for charity in terms of his religious obligations, and it looks certain that religious freedom is not as free as they would like us to believe it to be. There are certainly restrictions indicated by the persecution in this matter.”

Hoorzook was arrested at his Johannesburg home on Friday, 3 January, following a lengthy investigation by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), also known as The Hawks.

He faces charges under the Protection of Constitutional Democracy Against Terrorist and Related Activities Act (POCDATARA).

Investigation

The investigation into Hoorzook began in May 2018 when the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) and the Hawks were alerted to suspicious transactions potentially linked to terror financing.

He is accused of donating R11 500 through the South African cryptocurrency exchange Luno to al-Sadaqah — which the Hawks allege is a known terrorist fundraising entity posing as a charity — on 30 November 2017.

Al-Sadaqah, or charity in Arabic, is a Syrian organisation that was investigated by US authorities for financing “al-Qaeda and affiliated foreign terror organisations through the use of cryptocurrency”.

It was named in a 2020 search-and-seizure application before a US federal court as one of 155 virtual currency accounts that formed part of al-Qaeda’s network of fundraising organisations.

ALSO READ: ‘No genuine basis to oppose bail’: Man accused of funding terrorism using Bitcoin claims case is overblown

Bitcoin

According to the Hawks, on the same day, the Bitcoin was allegedly transferred from Hoorzook’s Luno wallet to one associated with an organisation that identifies itself as an “independent charity”.

During his bail application, his lawyer, Mohammed Razak, criticised the state, arguing that he was aware of several initiatives to support the people of Syria who were subjected to human rights violations.

“Most of the main and popular human rights organisations in South Africa and abroad had been promoting such initiatives to the extent that Islamic figures [ in South Africa] had been attending mosques to bring awareness about the plight of innocent civilians in Syria and to inform South African citizens of their duty to sympathise with the greater Islamic community.”

Arrest

On 3 October 2024, the police, armed with a search warrant, searched Hoorzook’s residence in Sandton.

Several pieces of evidence were seized for further investigation.

Hoorzook allegedly lived in Linbro Park, Johannesburg, at the time of the transaction and listed a Johannesburg address in his bail application.

ALSO READ: SA man accused of using Bitcoin to fund terrorism seeks bail