Australia rugby league international Blake Ferguson said he could “hardly stand up” after a month in a Japanese prison. Photo via Flickr Ken Mayer
Australia rugby league international Blake Ferguson said he could “hardly stand up” after a month in a Japanese prison. Photo via Flickr Ken Mayer
International Relations Minister Lindiwe Sisulu has expressed her concern at the current amount of South Africans jailed abroad.
As EWN report, DIRCO have disclosed some intriguing facts and figures, after a South African man was given a death sentence for drug trafficking while in Vietnam
Vietnamese lawmakers sentenced a Coetzee Tyron Lee to death in Ho Chi Minh after he was found guilty of trafficking about 1.5kg of cocaine into the country.
It is believed that Lee travelled from South Africa to Brazil, where he received a black backpack. He then transited to Dubai before making it to Vietnam on 9 June 2016.
After an intense period of interrogation, Lee finally admitted having been intentionally trying to smuggle the illicit drug into the country, a move that would soon become the hallmark in his case against the state.
How many South Africans are currently in jail abroad?
A total of 800 citizens from Mzansi are locked up in a prison overseas. This number has been deemed a real concern for Sisulu and her department, who have recently issued a comprehensive guide for travellers on how they should abide by the laws in foreign countries:
“You must respect local laws. There are very serious penalties for breaking a law which might seem trivial to you or for doing something which may not be illegal in South Africa.”
“While illegal drugs are readily available and openly used in many countries, the fact remains that they are dangerous and illegal. When caught, you can face lengthy jail sentences and/or the death penalty.”
Where do most South Africans get locked up?
South America has been touted as the area where our countrymen and women are most likely to get incarcerated. A total of 300 prisoners from SA are currently behind bars on the continent – that’s 37.5% of our total abroad-based inmates.
DIRCO Spokesperson Ndivhuwo Mabaya stressed that many of these arrests come from a basic lack of understanding of foreign culture. Mabaya suggests that South Africans must learn more about where they are travelling to:
“You need to understand the culture of the country they’re going to. A lot of South Africans jailed abroad are getting into trouble in places like Dubai and The Emirates because of culture and not understanding it.”
What country has the most South Africans jailed abroad?
Well, apart from South Africa, a further 140 SA nationals are jailed in Brazil – that’s one in six of all our prisoners overseas. Drug offences and trafficking charges remain the most common for incarceration in the region.
