Lawyers representing Czech Republic-born mobster Radovan Krejcir have accused prison doctors of prescribing a highly addictive drug to treat the underworld boss of his undisclosed health condition.
On Wednesday, with an army of no less than 15 SAPS and private security officials guarding him, Krejcir, who reported in 2021 that he fears for his life in prison, returned to the Gauteng High Court, seeking an order of the court to be allowed access to private medical services after he claimed that prison officials were denying him this right.
Krejcir is facing an array of charges, including murder, conspiracy to commit murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and the alleged possession of an unlawful firearm.
However, his appearance before the Gauteng High Court on Wednesday was a separate matter as he wanted an order by the court to grant him access to private health-care services.
In a strange turn of events, Krejcir accuses prison officials of denying him access to health services and prison doctors of having prescribed “highly addictive” drugs to treat his condition in 2018.
According to a letter to the court by his lawyers, Nastasja Otrebski of Otrebski Attorneys, their client suffers from a severe health condition, which require highly addictive OxyContin drug.
“We consulted our client on Monday, June 10, 2024, and our client has instructed us to inform your offices of his grievance, which needs to be addressed and attended to as a matter of urgency.
“Certain medication of our client’s has been depleted and, to date, the prison has not attempted to assist our client with his medication which he urgently requires. Our client has been on OxyContin since February 2018 and we wish to inform the DCS (Department of Correctional Services) that it was the prison doctors that initially prescribed this form of medication,” reads part of the letter from the lawyers.
The lawyers further allege: “Our offices are not qualified doctors, but from the recommendation and reports that we have seen from our client’s previous doctor, it was indicated that OxyContin is an extremely addictive drug (and from research more addictive than heroin. These medications cannot be stopped suddenly as it could cause death due to the severe withdrawal symptoms,” the lawyers said.
In 2021, the law firm indicated that their client’s health had worsened over the past few years.
Speaking on behalf of Exclusive Mediators, a prison rights activist, Glynnis Marriday, said she had been in contact with both Krejcir’s legal representatives as well as Krejcir himself.
“The court has given DCS an order to give Radovan permission to access a private doctor. They will have to come back on July 24 to give feedback if this was done. We are very happy about that. We are hoping that the other matters would have been resolved.”
Krejcir is expected to be back in court when his matter resumes with his other co-accused on July 24.
Responding to The Star, DCS spokesperson Sibangabakho Nxumalo dismissed these allegations.
“Inmates are never denied access to health care. In DCS we have a chief directorate for health care in addition to health-care professionals located across all correctional centres. They examine inmates and do work with health-care centres outside DCS. Inmates are transferred to an outside medical facility where DCS is unable to render the required medical care services. This is also done for inmates that require specialised care.
“Our policy does allow inmates to be treated at private health-care centres at their own costs. However, the prognosis has to be established and the type of treatment to be rendered at that specific centre,“ he said.
In 2016, Krejcir was sentenced to 35 years in jail for attempted murder and kidnapping, with some of his charges dating as far back as 2013 to drug dealing and ordering the kidnapping of a man whose brother had disappeared with 25kg of crystal meth.
In 2022, Nkanyiso Mafunda, Krejcir’s co-accused in the murder of Bassam “Sam” Issa, was granted bail of R20 000. Krejcir’s alleged hitman, Siboniso Miya, has spent 11 years in prison.
The Star