5 Prominent Activists Released by S. Africa : Still Considered Muzzled by State of Emergency; Suit Charges Police With Torturing Detainees

The government released five prominent activists after months in jail, but critics said the five remain muzzled by restrictions on their freedom to travel, attend public gatherings and publish. A suit also accused the police of systematic torture of detainees.

The action freeing the activists marks the first time the government has used the July 21 state of emergency law to authorize such restrictions on people not facing criminal charges, a spokesman for the Ministry of Law and Order said.

Anti-apartheid campaigners charged that the white-minority government is using the emergency rules to muzzle foes without resorting to formal banning orders that are condemned in the West.

“It’s banning through the back door,” said Max Coleman, whose son, Neil Coleman, was among the activists released Tuesday night.

‘Arbitrary Punishment’

“This is another kind of arbitrary punishment without trial,” said Sheena Duncan, president of the Black Sash women’s anti-apartheid group. “If the government is going to use this very widely on hundreds of people in detention, then it is more evidence that the government is seeking to crush all opposition.”

Coleman and three of the other activists--Auret van Heerden, Simon Ratcliffe and Morris Smithers--are whites involved in a variety of community groups.

The fifth activist is Rashid Saloojee, 52, the Indian president of the Transvaal Province branch of the United Democratic Front, an anti-apartheid coalition.

The five were detained uncharged a few days after the state of emergency was declared.

‘Conditions’ Admitted

A Ministry of Law and Order spokesman, Col. Leon Mellet, confirmed that “conditions” were imposed on the five upon their release. He said it was the first time restrictions were imposed and he would not speculate whether other detainees might also be restricted.

The restrictions are valid until the state of emergency ends.

In the torture suit, which seeks a ruling against the police, an Anglican priest, the mothers of three men thought to be detained and seven former detainees charge that police are engaged in systematic and brutal assault of detainees, including beatings with fists, whips and gun butts.

The seven former detainees named in the action say they were tortured by police in Johannesburg’s black townships.

Backed by Affidavits

The application for the injunction, filed in court Tuesday, is also backed by affidavits from six more ex-detainees and by doctors who say they have examined people whose mental and physical state bore out allegations of assault by the police.

The priest, David Nkwe, said in an affidavit that he feared for the safety of some of his parishioners who have been or still are detained. “Reports indicate very strongly that the security police are engaging in a systematic and brutal assault of detainees,” he said.

A judge is due to announce Thursday whether he will grant an urgent hearing.

The Law and Order Ministry has denied all the torture allegations and said the application is part of a campaign by radicals to discredit the South African police.