13 Caprivi accused file another application

Thirteen Namibian men accused of treason for their alleged role in a rebel attack in the Caprivi region have filed yet another application, this time at the High Court in the capital, Windhoek, asking for their release. The 13 were part of a group of 120 arrested for taking part in secessionist violence led by the Caprivi Liberation Army (CLA), which attacked Katimo Mulilo, the largest town in the northeastern Caprivi region, in August 1999. The accused, including John Samboma, the alleged commander of the CLA, were released at the end of February following an order by Judge Elton Hoff at the High Court in Grootfontein, 500 km north of Windhoek. He ruled that his court did not have the jurisdiction to try the men because the circumstances under which they had been held were "irregular". Defence counsel Patrick Kauta said the application in the Windhoek High Court asked that the Grootfontein High Court ruling be implemented. State counsel John Walters said the government would oppose the application. The hearing is likely to begin on Friday. The 13 argue that they were abducted unlawfully from Zambia and Botswana by the Namibian security forces, and were only brought to court six months after their arrest. Following Hoff's ruling, which ordered their release on 23 February, the men were re-arrested within a day on charges unrelated to the treason trial. They were released on 25 February, only to be arrested again on the same day and once more charged with treason.