Mbeki criticised for \'sitting in judgment\'
The advocate who is representing alleged stem cell scamsters Stephen van Rooyen (44) and Laura Brown (35) has criticised President Thabo Mbeki for sitting in judgment on the couples application to have the SA and US extradition agreement declared unlawful.
In a sworn statement before the Pretoria High Court, says The Mercury, Mbeki stated that the negotiation and signing of the treaty was done in terms of the constitution and the law. But, said Hodes, this statement amounted to Mbeki assuming the role of judge in the application. The temerity of it boggles the mind, he said. SA businessman van Rooyen and his US wife, Brown, are fighting a potentially precedent-setting legal battle to stop authorities from sending them to face a 20-year jail sentence in the US. Full report in The Mercury (subscription only)