News24.com | DA seeks copy of SA's Gupta extradition request to ensure history isn't repeated

Glynnis Breytenbach wants to study South Africa's Gupta extradition request.

• The DA's Glynnis Breytenbach is seeking to help prosecution officials ensure that history is not repeated when they submit an extradition request for Gupta brothers, Atul and Rajesh.
• The party has asked for a copy of South Africa's extradition request.
• The National Prosecuting Authority is still waiting for the details on United Arab Emirates judiciary's reasons for denying the extradition application.

In the hope of ensuring that history is not repeated, the DA's justice and constitutional development spokesperson, Glynnis Breytenbach, has asked for a copy of the country's request for the extradition of Atul and Rajesh Gupta. 

Breytenbach told News24 their request for the documents was not to challenge them or be malicious but rather to try and assist. 

She said: "I want to read it; I know about the extradition. If something was done wrong, we can fix it. [It's] not to punish anyone, not to humiliate anybody. I mean, we all want the Guptas back.

"If there were some conditions not met, [we must ensure] that we don't make the same mistake again in the future because, no doubt again, we will have to apply for an extradition in whatever country they now find themselves in."

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In a statement released on Monday, Breytenbach said the DA would write to National Director of the Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi to obtain a copy of the extradition application. 

Early this month, Justice Minister Ronald Lamola revealed that a request to have the Gupta brothers extradited from the United Arab Emirates had been dismissed. 

South Africa only found out this month but the decision was already made in February. 

She elaborated in the statement that the party also sought to understand why UAE officials took six weeks to communicate the final decision to Lamola and senior prosecution officials. 

"We will also be seeking to understand why communication between the UAE authorities broke down to the point that the outcome of the extradition application was only communicated via a diplomatic note almost two months after the hearing took place on 13 February 2023."

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Breytenbach said there was nothing to achieve from possibly acquiring the forms because "the extradition application had failed, the Guptas have been set free."

She added:

News24 previously reported that the UAE judiciary had advised South African officials to prepare a new request if they wanted to extradite the Guptas.

The National Prosecuting Authority is still waiting for an explanation for the rejection of its Gupta extradition request and for the delay.