Plea for SA prisoner-exchange deal
Updated | By Zongile Mthimkhulu
A South African mother whose son is serving an 11-year sentence for drug trafficking in Mauritius, says it is high time the South African government signed the Prisoner Exchange Treaty with other countries.
Patria Gerber, who heads the 'Locked Up In Foreign Countries' NGO, has been speaking to Newswatch following the news of a Johannesburg man who faces the death penalty in Malaysia, after being caught two years ago trying to smuggle drugs into that country.
Reports suggest 29-year-old Deon Cornelius yesterday lost his appeal to have his death penalty overturned.
Gerber says while she does not excuse the actions of people like Cornelius and her son, they'd however have a better chance at life if South Africa had the exchange treaty.
''We are asking our government to intervene because we do not want to have another case where a South African executed like it was in China in 2011.
''So it's a huge problem that we have yet the government is not coming on board and they are making all the excuses,'' she said.
(File photo: Gallo Images)
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