Amnesty Appeals Denied in S. Africa

Retired Archbishop Desmond M. Tutu’s truth commission refused for the first time Friday to pardon killers who claimed their actions were part of the war against apartheid.

The amnesty committee of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission said in a statement that there was no evidence that any of the killings in question were perpetrated in defense of or in opposition to apartheid.

The committee refused applications by two white security guards who tortured a black colleague to death, by a black man who was part of a crowd that hacked four whites to death after their car had broken down and by a black youth who killed a policeman with the officer’s own gun.

The amnesty committee has so far heard applications only from convicted prisoners claiming their actions were politically motivated. It pardoned its first two applicants last week.

The committee is expected to start hearing amnesty appeals from former apartheid agents before the end of the year.