SOUTH AFRICAN TORTURE TRIAL.

S.A. policeman on trial for torture.

Maureen Mnisi was among those allegedly assaulted. A South African policeman is on trial over the alleged torture of four detainees during the 2004 elections. The case follows the detention of activists from the Landless People's Movement, who had demonstrated on polling day, 14 April.
Simangaliso Patrick Simelane, head of Crime Intelligence Services at a Soweto police station, faces assault charges. He has not yet entered a plea.

Two women say they were suffocated with a rubber sheet inside a police cell. The four are among a group of 52 who still face charges in connection with the demonstration. No other charges have been laid in the case, though lawyers for the four plaintiffs say that other police officers were also present during the incident.

Four-day trial
Maureen Mnisi, chair of the Landless People's Movement in Gauteng province, was detained at the police station overnight together with activists Ann Eveleth, Samantha Hargreaves and Moses Mahlangu. This followed an election day demonstration intended to draw attention to the situation of landless people in South Africa.