DENIES TORTURE IN SOUTH AFRICA'S PRISONS
The efforts of Minister of Justice Vorster to defend the good name of South Africa's prisons met with a notable success August 16. On that day a "confession," allegedly signed by Gysbert Johan Van Schalkwyk, a former guard at Boksburg, was read in court. According to the teonfession, " the 22-year-old Schalkwyk lied when he revealed to the press horrifying details about the use of torture in the prison where he was employed.
Unfortunately Schalkwyk could not be questioned about the truthfulness of the "confession" that was read for him. He was not even in court. It was announced that he had been sentenced to three years in prison as a penalty for making false declarations which cast a shadow on South Africa's prisons; and he was, of course, already serving time. In any case, the authorities revealed, Schalkwyk was "not mentally capzble" of reading his "confession" himself. and that was why the prosecution had to do it for him,
Schalkwyk's revelations had been supported by another guard in the same prison, but it was not revealed whether Vorster had as yet succeeded in getting a "confession" from him that could be read in court after condemnation and incarceration of the liar.
As part of his campaign, Vorster moved once more against ‘the Rand Daily Mail which has been running a series of articles exposing the use of torture in South Africa's prisons. The facts in these articles were gathered from various sources, including victims of torture as well as prison officials.
For the fifth time in two months, the police raided the editorial offices, They seized photographs of people who had talked to reporters and sought to requisition documents that have not as yet been published by the newspaper. The editor Laurence Gandar refused to give the documents to Vorster's cops.
No information is available as yet concerning the methods employed by Vorster to persuade the unfortunate Schalkwyk to make a "confession." The possible nature of these methods, however, may be gathered from an article by Brian Kennedy which appeared in the Rand Daily Mail and which was republished in the British Guardian of August 2,
The article quotes Johannes Andries Theron, a head warder at Boksburg!s Cinderella Prison as declaring in a sworn statement:
"T have seen electric shock treatment being given to prisoners -~ as a punishment and in order to make them talk. Once a prisoner has had the treatment. he is prepared to sign anything."
In an official report madé to the Acting Director of Prisons on March 16, 1965, Head Warder ‘Theron gave details of how ‘warders had beaten up prisoners to make. ‘them give false evidence.
"The conditions in ‘Cinderella ‘Prison are ‘among the worst I have seen in more than 17 years service with the Prisons Department,' he told the Rand Daily Mail, "and I have served in Pretoria, protorda Central, Middelburg, Johannesburg, ‘Cape Town; Wéstlake, Paarl, Wor- — cester, *Zeerust, Stellenbosch, Robertson, Colesburg, Modder B, and other prisons,
"During the past two years | I have fought a running battle of protest against the victimisation of both prisoners and staff.
‘"T have seen brutality absolutely contrary to prison regula~ tions. Warders who have spoken out against these appalling conditions have been victimised,"
- Theron, it appears, has aroused the righteous indignation of Minister of Justice Vorster, It was reported July SL that he had been “suspended from duty and confined to barracks." And senior officials of the Prisons Department admitted that he has been "appearing before a disciplinary court.' ° A spokesman of the Department denied that any further measures had been taken against him -- as yet.
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