Charges dropped in WMD case
Posted Wed, 08 Sep 2004
In his first appearance the court was told that his bail application was withdrawn and he was later whisked away, supposedly to prison until his next appearance on October 11.
Meyer was arrested last week and 11 shipping containers containing components of a centrifuge uranium plant and related documentation were seized from his factory premises in the town's industrial zone.
He faced three charges under South Africa's Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction Act and the Nuclear Energy Act as part of an international investigation which includes the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
A statement on Tuesday from South Africa's Council for the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons said the investigation was "in the context" of the AQ Khan "network"
Abdul Khan was a leading figure in Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme, and was involved in the final test detonation of Pakistan's first nuclear bomb.
Council chairperson Abdul Minty said the items confiscated did not "constitute a weapon of mass destruction, but they are essential components in the process to enrich uranium".
http://iafrica.com/news/sa/346152.htm:shrug: