LISTEN: HARONS HOPE FOR CLOSURE AS 1970 INQUEST INTO ACTIVIST’S DEATH SET ASIDE
Imam Abdullah Haron died in police custody in 1969. More than five decades later, the Western Cape High Court has set aside a 1970 inquest, in order to find the true cause of his death.
CAPE TOWN – Fatiema Haron-Masoet, anti-apartheid activist Imam Abdullah’s youngest daughter, was just six years old when her father was buried.
Haron died in police custody in 1969. In 1970, inquest magistrate JSP Kuhn concluded he had an “accidental fall” down a flight of stairs.
On Monday, 54 years later, she and her family welcomed the Western Cape High Court setting aside the 1970 inquest, to find the true cause of Haron’s untimely death.
FINDINGS OF 1970 INQUEST INTO DEATH OF IMAM HARON SET ASIDE
Western Cape High Court Judge Daniel Thulare handed down his judgment in the reopened inquest into the death of anti-apartheid activist Imam Abdullah Haron on Monday.
CAPE TOWN – The Western Cape High Court has overturned the findings of a 1970s inquest into the death of anti-apartheid activist, Imam Abdullah Haron.
Judge Daniel Thulare said that it was evident that Haron’s injuries were as a result of repeated torture at the hands of the apartheid-era security branch and police.
Thulare said that all the officers who gave evidence in that inquest patently lied about Haron’s treatment while in custody for four months in 1969.
Judge Thulare said the injuries of Imam Haron spoke for themselves.
https://ewn.co.za/2023/10/09/findings-of-1970-inquest-into-death-of-imam-haron-set-aside
Court rules Imam Haron was tortured to death by apartheid police
Imam Haron succumbed to his death in police custody at Maitland Police Station on 27 September 1969.
The Western Cape High Court has ruled the 1970 inquest into the death of anti-apartheid activist Imam Abdullah Haron be set aside, and found he died at the hands of apartheid police.
Judge Daniel Thulare handed down judgment in the reopened inquest of Haron on Monday, concluding Haron’s injuries were sustained by torture.
“The findings of Magistrate Koen recorded in the 1970 inquest number 15/70 dated 9 March 1970 as to the cause or likely cause of death, as to whether the death was brought about by any act prima facie involving or amounting to an offence on the part of any person, are herewith set aside.
Imam Haron was tortured to death by the apartheid Security Branch, new inquest finds
- The late Imam Haron was tortured to death and did not fall down steps as the apartheid police claimed.
- This was the finding of a new inquest into the cause of his death in detention on 27 September 1969.
- The finding will be referred to the National Prosecuting Authority for possible prosecutions.
The late Imam Abdullah Haron did not fall down steps at a police station, but was tortured to death by the apartheid Security Branch, a new inquest ruled on Monday.
“The imam was a victim of torture by the Security Branch because the imam opposed apartheid,” ruled Judge Daniel Thulare in the Western Cape High Court.
Thulare found that Haron suffered immensely at the hands of a criminal justice system that was complicit in his death in detention without trial.
Judge rules that inquest into death of Imam Haron be overturned
SABC NEWS Mariska Botha 9 October 2023
Western Cape High Court Judge Daniel Thulare has ruled that the original inquest into the death of Muslim Cleric and anti-apartheid activist, Imam Abdullah Haron, be overturned.
Thulare read out sections of his 101-page findings, focusing on the injuries on the Imam’s body.
The inquest of 1970 found that no one could be held accountable for the Imam’s deathafter the 123 days in police detention.
Apartheid-era security police responsible for death of Imam Abullah Haron
ALGOAA FM 09 Oct 2023 | Staff Writer
The Western Cape High Court has overturned a 1970 inquest ruling on the cause of death of anti-apartheid activist, Imam Abdullah Haron.
Judge Daniel Thulare on Monday set aside the findings of the then Magistrate Kuhn on the question of whether Imam Haron’s death in detention was a result of an act or omission of anyone which amounted to a criminal offence.
Judge Thulare said his more than 100-page judgment differs from that of the Magistrate at the original inquest in respect of the cause of death and who should be held accountable.
He said the likely cause of Imam Haroon’s death was the cumulative effect of injuries under torture, in particular a combination of severe systemic physiological stresses.
Thulare said this included “crush injury syndrome precipitated by complications of blunt soft tissue injury, with the possibility of a pre-existing coronary artery disease as a contributing factor”.
HARON’S RE-OPENED INQUEST OUTCOME SHOULD HAVE BEEN HANDED DOWN EARLIER: FAMILY
It was an emotional moment for the three Haron siblings as judge Daniel Thulare ruled that at least six apartheid-era police officers were responsible for their father’s torture and ultimate death.
CAPE TOWN – The family of tortured anti-apartheid activist Imam Abdulla Haron said they wished the re-opened inquest outcome would have been handed down five decades ago.
On Monday, the Western Cape High Court ruled that Haron died from injuries sustained from repeated torture, and overturned the 1970 inquest ruling that he suffered a heart attack after falling down a flight of stairs while in police custody.
Haron’s only son Muhammad said while they will never have complete closure, Monday’s judgment brings them some solace.
It was an emotional moment for the three Haron siblings as judge Daniel Thulare ruled that at least six apartheid-era police officers were responsible for their father’s torture and ultimate death.
DAILY MAVERICK – DEATH IN DETENTION
Not accidental – Activist Imam Haron died after being tortured by police, reopened inquest finds
During the height of apartheid in March 1970, Magistrate JSP Kuhn in March found that the death of South African Muslim cleric and activist Imam Abdullah Haron was caused by an accidental fall down some stairs. On Monday, this inquest judgment was set aside in the Western Cape high court, which found that Haron died as a result of torture.
In his ruling in the reopened inquest, Judge Daniel Thulare stated that Imam Haron died as a result of a cumulative effect of torture injuries, including crush syndrome.
Thulare stated that Haron had endured immense suffering at the hands of police. Furthermore, it was said that the criminal justice system was complicit in Haron’s death as he received no trial during his four months of detention.
Haron: The moment of truth as judge finds apartheid cops responsible
IOL Written by Bulelwa Payi 09 Oct 2023
The notorious apartheid Special Branch has been found responsible for the murder of political activist and religious leader Imam Abdullah Haron.
Family members, former political detainees, politicians, religious leaders, diplomats and members of the public filled Court 20 in the Western Cape High Court to hear the truth about Haron’s death in police custody on September 27, 1969.
The public gallery broke into shouts of “Viva” and thunderous applause as Judge Daniel Thulare set aside the 1970 inquest finding which exonerated the police and attending medical practitioners for Haron’s death.
This was despite the post-mortem report detailing a broken rib and 27 visible bruises.
Judge Thulare said: “The cause of death of Imam Haron is attributable to the cumulative effect of injuries under torture.”
Imam Haron: State owes South Africans an explanation – Brett Herron
Imam Haron: The democratic state owes South Africans an explanation for delaying justice
POLITICSWEB 9 October 2023
The Western Cape High Court’s ruling today that Imam Abdullah Haron was murdered by apartheid police in 1969 is very welcome, but it comes too late for anyone responsible for his death or the cover-up that followed to be held accountable because they are dead.
It comes too late to hold then Prime Minister BJ Vorster or his police minister friend Lourens Muller accountable because Vorster died in 1983 and Muller in 2005 (11 years after the advent of democracy).
It comes too late to hold the apartheid magistrate accountable for his false ruling at the 1970 inquest that the Imam died as a result of an accidental fall.
It comes too late to hold the medical professionals accountable for lying about the cause of his death.
https://www.politicsweb.co.za/politics/imam-haron-state-owes-south-africans-an-explanatio
Abdullah Haron Inquest | Apartheid police found responsible for activist’s death
Oct 9, 2023 #eNCA #DStv403
Court rules that the late Imam Abdullah Haron’s death was not accidental but a murder by Apartheid regime
By Kouthar Sambo: voice of the Cape
“Takbeer, Allahu Akbar! Takbeer, Allahu Akbar (magnification of God)!”
These were the glorious echoes of supporters at the reopened inquest of the late cleric and Apartheid activist Imam Abdullah Haron, which reverberated throughout the corridors of the Western Cape High Court today.
This comes after Judge Daniel Thulare delivered the final verdict of the late Imam’s death.
Court exposes truth behind Imam Abdullah Haron’s death: Overturns apartheid-era cover-up
Written by Kailene Pillay Multimedia Journalist, IOL Politics
Anti-apartheid activist and Muslim cleric, Imam Abdullah Haron did not die by suffering a heart attack after falling down a flight of stairs, as alleged by the Security Branch of the apartheid-era South African Police Force in 1969.
He died from injuries he sustained from repeated torture, including being crushed and having significant damage to his soft tissues, the Western Cape High Court found.
The court ruled that Haron’s injuries might have been made worse by problems with his heart that were already there before. All these factors together led to his death in detention on September 27, 1969.
The court overturned the 1970 inquest ruling and held the Security Branch responsible for his death.
HARON FAMILY WISH THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR FATHER’S DEATH CAN BE BROUGHT TO BOOK
CAPE TOWN – The Haron family were very emotional at the Western Cape High Court on Monday.
This is after the court overturned the initial inquest that no one could be held responsible for Imam Abdullah Haron’s death.
The initial inquest found that Haron sustained fatal injuries after falling down a flight of stairs at the then Caledon Square Police Station in 1969. Judge Daniel Thulare ruled that the apartheid security police tortured him to death.
A record of the security branch police officer’s conduct will be forwarded to the Provincial Director of Public Prosecutions to map out the way forward.
For the Haron family, the ruling has brought some comfort. However, they wish all parties responsible for their father’s murder, could have been criminally charged.
The Haron family say they will now focus on completing the biography of their late father.
https://www.enca.com/news/haron-family-wish-those-responsible-fathers-death-can-be-brought-book
Imam Haron family on inquest finding: ‘If only we could have prosecuted each of those murderers’
- The family of Imam Haron said they hoped other cases of police torture during apartheid would be brought to the fore.
- On Monday, the court confirmed Haron was tortured severely before he died in detention.
- The NPA said the number of prosecutors and investigators had been beefed up for another 135 apartheid-era cases.
The family of Imam Abdulah Haron said Monday’s new inquest into his death confirmed what they had known for decades – that he was killed by the apartheid police while detained without trial in Cape Town in 1969.
“It was always our feeling that he was killed, and there it is,” said the Muslim cleric’s son, Muhammed Haron, after Western Cape High Court Judge Daniel Thulare ruled the Imam’s death was caused by torture inflicted by Security Branch policemen, and then ignored by the justice system and two district surgeons.
NEW INQUEST RULING INTO IMAM HARON’S DEATH ONLY BRINGS PARTIAL CLOSURE – FAMILY
On Monday, Western Cape High Court Judge Daniel Thulare overturned the 1970 inquest finding of his death in police custody in 1969, replacing it with a ruling that he was tortured to the extent that his injuries most likely caused his untimely death.
CAPE TOWN – The Haron family said that the new inquest finding into the death of their father, Imam Abdullah Haron, brings only partial closure for them.
On Monday, Western Cape High Court Judge Daniel Thulare overturned the 1970 inquest finding of his death in police custody in 1969, replacing it with a ruling that he was tortured to the extent that his injuries most likely caused his untimely death.
Six apartheid-era police officers have been cited for contributing to his death through repeated torture but none of them are still alive.
It will, however, be left to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to decide whether a junior officer at the time of Haron’s death should be prosecuted on any charges.
NPA welcomes court decision setting aside Imam Haron inquest findings
TIMES LIVE 10 October 2023 Ernest Mabuza Journalist
The National Prosecuting Authority has welcomed the decision of the Western Cape High Court setting aside the findings of an inquest into the death of anti-apartheid activist Imam Abdullah Haron in September 1969.
The 1970 inquest found that Haron’s cause or likely cause of death in the Maitland police station cells was myocardial ischemia, a likely contributing cause being a disturbance of the blood clotting mechanism and blood circulating due, in part, to trauma superimposed on a severe narrowing of a coronary artery.
A substantial part of the trauma was caused by an accidental fall down a flight of stone stairs, it found.
In its ruling on Monday, the high court said for the past 54 years, the imam’s family, friends and comrades in the anti-apartheid struggle had never accepted the findings of the magistrate.
Judge Daniel Thulare found Haron’s death was attributable to the cumulative effect of injuries under torture.
He said the Security Branch of the South African Police was responsible for the acts and omissions leading directly to the death of Haron.
‘Apartheid cops killed Haron’
The apartheid police’s Special Branch was responsible for the murder of political activist and religious leader Imam Abdullah Haron, a court heard.
Family, former political detainees, politicians, religious leaders, diplomats and members of the public filled Court 20 in the Western Cape High Court yesterday to hear the truth about Haron’s death in police custody on September 27, 1969.
The public gallery broke into shouts of “viva” and thunderous applause as Judge Daniel Thulare set aside the 1970 inquest finding which exonerated the police and attending medical practitioners for Haron’s death.
https://www.dailyvoice.co.za/news/apartheid-cops-killed-haron-91bb1e96-a79b-4ff1-9a00-740017854151
‘We found closure, but no one to prosecute’ – Imam Haron’s daughter
Fatiema Haron Masoet, the daughter of anti-apartheid activist Imam Abdullah Haron, says the family is relieved at the finding of a new inquest into the cause of his death.
On Monday, the Western Cape High Court ruled that Haron’s death in September 1969 was the result of repeated torture by the apartheid police’s notorious security branch.
The court dismissed the apartheid police’s version that Haron fell down the stairs and subsequently suffered a heart attack.
“Judge Daniel Thulare found that Haron’s injuries were a cumulative effect of injuries under torture, in particular a combination of severe systematic psychological stresses,” said NPA Western Cape spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila.
https://www.jacarandafm.com/news/news/we-found-closure-no-one-prosecute-imam-harons-daughter/
Reopened inquest finds SA police responsible for Imam Haron’s death
Published by on
The long-standing belief that the Security Branch of the South African Police was behind the torture and subsequent death of Imam Abdullah Haron, a prominent Muslim cleric and anti-apartheid activist, has been confirmed by a recent judgement in a reopened inquest.
This judgement marks a significant moment for the Haron family, survivors of apartheid-era police violence and all who advocated for a free and fair South Africa.
https://www.capetownetc.com/news/reopened-inquest-finds-sa-police-responsible-for-imam-harons-death/
Reopened inquest rules apartheid security police responsible for Imam Haron’s death
Written by Shakirah Thebus Multimedia Journalist, Cape Argus
Published Oct 10, 2023
Cape Town – A decades-held credence that the Security Branch of the South African Police was responsible for the death by torture of the late Muslim cleric and anti-apartheid activist Imam Abdullah Haron was affirmed as the judgment in the re-opened inquest was delivered.
This was a solemn victory for the Haron family, victims of apartheid police brutality, and those who fought for a liberated South Africa.
Lamola welcomes new inquest findings on Imam Haron’s death
Justice Minister Ronald Lamola has welcomed the Western Cape High Court’s finding that anti-apartheid activist, Imam Abdullah Haron, did not die by accident.
Western Cape High Court Judge Daniel Thulare on Monday handed down his judgment in the reopened inquest into Haron’s death.
https://headtopics.com/za/lamola-welcomes-new-inquest-findings-on-imam-haron-s-death-46463618
Imam Haron re-opened death inquest heard
SMILE 90.4 PUBLISHED ON DANIELLE MENTOOR
The 1970 findings of the inquest into the death of anti-apartheid activist Imam Abdullah Haron were set aside in the Western Cape High Court on Monday.
The National Prosecuting Authority was requested to re-open the inquest into the death of Imam Haron in September 2021. It sought the approval of Justice Minister Ronald Lamola and, in March 2022, successfully secured permission to reopen the inquest. A presiding officer was appointed in May 2022, and proceedings under the Inquest Act began in November.
https://smilefm.co.za/imam-haron-re-opened-death-inquest-heard/
NPA SAYS IT’S COMMITTED TO PROCESSING ALL APARTHEID-ERA CRIMES RECORDED AT TRC
National deputy director of public prosecutions, Rodney de Kock, says prosecutors are currently investigating 135 TRC cases, with 10 matters finalised since September 2021 and a further ten awaiting judgment.
CAPE TOWN – The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) says it’s committed to processing all apartheid-era crimes that were recorded at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).
However, national deputy director of public prosecutions, Rodney de Kock, has told Parliament that it’s difficult to bring such dated cases to court where often it’s been difficult to collect evidence.
On Monday, the Western Cape High Court overturned a 1970 inquest finding into the death of anti-apartheid activist, Imam Abdullah Haron, and ruled that he most likely died from injuries inflicted by policemen who tortured him.
