JOHANNESBURG: Ninety-five Libyans found at a suspected military camp in South Africa’s northeast in July would be deported back to their country on Sunday, the home affairs ministry said.
The Libyan men have been detained since July 26 when police raided the remote training camp near the town of White River about 360 kilometers (220 miles) east of Johannesburg.
“They are scheduled to leave South Africa from the Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport this morning in a flight that has been paid for by the Libyan Government,” the home affairs ministry said in a statement.
Police had said the men entered South Africa in April on visas issued for training as security guards.
However, police suspected they were receiving military training.
The government then canceled the visas which were “irregularly acquired” in the Tunisian capital Tunis based on “misrepresentation.”
“I commend the Home Affairs officials and other law enforcement officers who worked tirelessly to ensure an expeditious deportation,” the department’s minister Leon Schreiber said in a statement.
Initially, the group had been charged with violating immigration rules. Their case was postponed for further investigation with authorities not ruling out further charges.
But on Thursday the case was dropped by the South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority who cited insufficient evidence.
“We will continue to deploy all resources at our disposal to ensure that the country’s immigration laws are respected and observed,” Schreiber said.
South Africa deports 95 Libyans found at suspected military camp
https://arab.news/bxtd3
South Africa deports 95 Libyans found at suspected military camp
- The Libyan men have been detained since July 26
- The government then canceled the visas which were “irregularly acquired” in the Tunisian capital Tunis based on “misrepresentation”
Slovak parliament passes law to abolish whistleblower protection office
- The new law abolishes the office in charge of protecting whistleblowers and creates another body
- Fico has faced a series of protests over his curbing of rights in the country
BRATISLAVA: Slovakia’s parliament on Tuesday approved a law that critics say will curb protections for whistleblowers, the latest move drawing rule-of-law concerns since nationalist Prime Minister Robert Fico’s return to power in 2023.
It comes after parliament last year adopted controversial penal code reforms, including easing the penalties for corruption and economic offenses in the European Union and NATO member.
Since his return to power, Fico has faced a series of protests over his curbing of rights in the country of 5.4 million people.
Parliament passed the new law, which abolishes the office in charge of protecting whistleblowers and creates another body that will be placed under government authority, with 78 votes in favor and 57 against.
The law, which foresees that the government will nominate the chair of the new body, will take effect from January 1, 2026.
Parliament will be tasked with electing the chair.
The law states that “protections granted so far may be retroactively withdrawn... from whistleblowers,” adding that protections may also “be permanently re?evaluated, including at the initiative of the employer.”
Jan Horecky, a lawmaker from the Christian Democratic KDH party, denounced the abolition of the “last... independent institution dedicated to fighting corruption” in the country.
In recent weeks, Slovak NGOs have protested against the government plans to abolish the office, with a few hundred people rallying in front of the parliament building after lawmakers passed the law in the first reading.
The opposition SaS party has called a new protest for Thursday.
Transparency International Slovakia in late November accused Fico of “dismantling even the little he himself offered in the fight against corruption,” while the NGO Stop Corruption said whistleblower protection risks being turned into “a scrap of paper that will protect no one.”
Slovakia’s rank in Transparency International’s annual corruption perceptions index dropped several places last year, with the country ranking among the most corrupt in the EU last year.
Critics say about 100 people who have blown the whistle on corruption stand to lose protection.
Fico has drawn a series of protests, including over tightening his grip on public broadcaster RTVS and media outlets he deems “hostile” and replacing leading figures in the country’s cultural institutions.
Brussels launched legal action against Slovakia over changes to the country’s constitution that see national law take precedence over EU law.
