Judge hears closing arguments at Imam Haron inquest

Cape Town - Closing arguments in the reopened inquest into the death of anti-apartheid activist Imam Abdullah Haron resumed in the Western Cape High Court on Monday.

Haron was detained under the then Terrorism Act on May 28, 1969. For 123 days he was reportedly held in solitary confinement, interrogated almost daily and assaulted an unknown number of times by the Security Branch.

He died in a police cell on September 27, 1969, and an inquest was held in 1970, but despite evidence in the post-mortem report of clear trauma to Haron’s body, the magistrate at the time ruled that no one was to blame for his death.

Following pressure on the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), an inquest was reopened. Western Cape High Court Judge Daniel Thulare is hearing the closing arguments.

Advocate Howard Varney, representing the Haron family on Monday, poked holes in the evidence of Johannes Burger, the only surviving member of the police who had contact with Haron while he was in detention.

Burger claimed that he knew nothing about how political detainees were treated by the Security Branch, or of Haron being tortured.

“We submit that Burger’s evidence must be regarded as false evidence. Burger was well aware that Haron was being tortured. He was well aware that the Security Branch tortured detainees,” Varney said.

Varney also argued that the police denied Haron medical attention, even though they knew he was sick and would die.

Haron's son Muhammed said they hoped the reopened inquest would bring closure to the family.

“We hope the inquest will bring closure, it has already partially done so with the witnesses that came. We hope that the closing arguments will reinforce what has always been in our minds, that he was killed while he was in detention,“ he said.

Several witnesses testified at the reopened inquest including pathologist Dr Steve Naidoo who said that the injuries on Haron’s body were caused by blunt force, probably as a result of being repeatedly assaulted.

The matter continues.

Cape Times

• ‘Interrogated almost daily’: Haron inquiry continues