Chances are slim that a Serbian fugitive wanted in his homeland for the murder of a warlord will be given refugee status.
|||Chances are very slim that a Serbian fugitive wanted in his homeland for the murder of a notorious warlord will be given refugee status here.
Serb hitman Dobrosav Gavric, convicted for the murders of warlord Zeljko “Arkan” Raznatovic and two others, is applying for bail after he was arrested following the Serbian government making a request to have him extradited.
The Serbian government wants him back to serve a 35-year jail term for the triple murders.
The hitman came to South Africa in 2008 using a false passport and claims he fled Serbia after he was framed for the killing of mass murderer Raznatovic.
His legal representative advocate Johan Nortje told the Cape Town Magistrates’ Court on Monday that his client will be visiting the refugee office tomorrow or Thursday to apply for refugee status.
Last week, Gavric’s lawyer Juan Smuts indicated that should Gavric get refugee status, all pending cases against him will stall.
And Smuts added that the refugee status will form a decisive factor in their final arguments to have Gavric released on bail.
In earlier testimony, the court heard from investigating officer Paul Hendricks that in terms of the Immigration Act (No 13 of 2002), Gavric is classified as an undesirable person.
“Gavric is in possession of a false passport, no legal documents to support who he is and is a convicted killer wanted in his homeland,” Hendricks said.
“Should he be granted bail, immigration officials will arrest and deport him.”
Legal experts tell the Daily Voice it is very unlikely the Serbian fugitive will be granted refugee status.
“The immigration law is very clear on fugitives from justice or previous criminal convictions,” a judge says.
“Gavric is wanted by his country to serve a 35-year jail term for a triple murder.”
Experts warn that Gavric’s status should not be seen in the same light as that of two Botswanan fugitives.
In December 2011, the Johannesburg High Court ordered that the Minister of Home Affairs may not deport Emmanual Tsebe and Jerry Phale.
Tsebe and Phale each faced a charge of murder in their native Botswana.
Tsebe allegedly killed his common-law wife by hitting her with a machete and a stick while Phale was charged with killing his former girlfriend.
Both fled to SA before they could be tried in Botswana, where the death penalty is enforced.
Both were due to be deported but obtained an order prohibiting Home Affairs from sending them back to Botswana without the assurance of the Botswanan government that they would not be hanged.
Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma then approached the Constitutional Court last month for leave to appeal the order by the court on the grounds that it prohibits her from implementing the Immigration Act in cases where “undesirable” people find refuge in South Africa and cannot be sent back as they face the possibility of the death sentence.
“But Gavric is not facing a death sentence,” say legal experts.
Gavric is expected to appear before the Cape Town Magistrates’ Court on Friday where the final arguments in his bail application will be heard.
*This article was published in the Daily Voice