Pretoria - A full bench (three judges) has again made it clear that Correctional Service’s policy that prisoners studying while in jail may not use their personal laptops – minus a modem – in their cells constituted unfair discrimination.
The groundbreaking judgment for the rights of prisoners studying was sparked by three of the so-called Boeremag members, Dr Lets Pretorius and two of his sons, Drs Johan and Wilhelm Pretorius.
A judge earlier overturned the department’s policy that inmates may not use their laptops in their cells. According to the department, there were study halls in prison, where inmates could make use of their laptops.
Unhappy with the earlier ruling allowing inmates the use of their laptops in their cells, the department appealed the judgment before three judges of the Johannesburg high court.
Judge Leicester Adams, who wrote the concurring judgment, however, again found in favour of the Pretorius brothers.
He said a State authority could and should not issue policies which unfairly discriminated against any person or any group of persons.
Lawyer Julian Knight, who acted on behalf of the Pretorius family, said although his clients brought the initial application, this was a victory for all inmates in the country who were studying.
At the time of launching the initial application, the three were serving between 20 and 30 years’ imprisonment at the Zonderwater Prison outside Cullinan. All three were enrolled at Unisa.
Lets Pretorius has meanwhile been released on parole, but his sons are still in prison.
They initially took their plight to the High Court, Pretoria, as the department refused them permission to take their laptops to their cells to study after lock-up time. They, like other inmates, were allowed to work on their computers in designated study centres in jail. But the three complained that the study hours were limited at these centres as they were locked up for the bulk of the day and evenings and they lost valuable study time.
The department held the stance that only students who were enrolled for further studies could have a personal laptop in prison, but these had to be kept at the study rooms. No computer was allowed in any cell.
The Pretorius family said they had lost many hours of study time due to the fact that they could only use their computers when the study centre was open, only in the mornings.
The court earlier, in ruling in favour of using laptops in cells – minus its modems – said the department did not provide the court with a single shred of evidence where computers in cells posed a security breach. It said prisoners should be encouraged to study, as this contributed to their rehabilitation and it was in the interest of society that ex-prisoners could fully function in society.
On appeal, Judge Adams agreed with this in the judgment which was delivered on Friday. He said in the constitutional democracy everyone was equal before the law and had the right to equal protection and benefit of the law.
He said the State may not unfairly discriminate against convicted persons serving long-term sentences of imprisonment. They too, have the right to further education and the right to study, as well as the right to human dignity.
The department argued that benefits, opportunities and advantages were not being unlawfully withheld from prisoners on the grounds that they were inmates. It reasoned that there were ample opportunity to use laptops during study hours. The department also contended that the usage of laptops or computers in cells could lead to “all sorts of criminal activities”.
This point was, however, also dismissed on appeal.
Pretoria News