At the end of November, South African Justice Minister...

At the end of November, South African Justice Minister Penuell Maduna announced that, after receiving information from Human Rights Watch, he had asked the National Director of Public Prosecutions, Bulelani Ngcuka, to investigate the possibility of charging Mengistu Haile-Mariam in a South African court for crimes against humanity. Under national and international law, South Africa has an obligation to ensure that Mengistu Haile-Mariam remains in the country while an investigation into his alleged crimes is conducted. If the investigation concludes that there is sufficient evidence implicating him, then the authorities must either commence prosecution or extradite him to a state that will try him in accordance with international fair trial standards and that will not impose the death penalty. But a South African Foreign Ministry spokesman was quoted as asserting that the Government is not able to extradite Mengistu Haile-Mariam because he is a refugee and therefore has the right to remain in the country for medical treatment.