JOHANNESBURG, September 19 (ANA) – The United States of America have frozen the assets and imposed other sanctions on South African terror-accused twins, Brandon-lee and Tony-lee Thulsie, for plotting a series of attacks on behalf of the Islamic State terrorist group against Jewish targets and the US Embassy, according to reports on Tuesday.
“Among other consequences, all of Tony-Lee Thulsie and Brandon-Lee Thulsie’s property and interests in property subject to US jurisdiction are blocked, and US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with them,” the release stated according to news agency Sputnik.
The brothers were arrested in 2016, by South African authorities before the attacks were carried out, the release said.
Both men attempted to travel to Syria to fight for the Islamic State and Tony-Lee Thulsie communicated with the terrorist group to learn how to build bombs for terrorist attacks in South Africa, the release added.
Meanwhile, the trial against the Thulsie twins is set to begin at the South Gauteng High Court on October 20.
The Thulsie twins were arrested in July 2016 and have been charged with conspiracy and incitement to commit the crime of terrorism and conspiring and attempting to commit acts associated with terrorist activities.
They are charged with 12 counts relating to contraventions of the Protection of the Constitutional Democracy Against Terrorist and Related Activities Act and the 13th charge is for fraud, linked to the alleged use of fake passports.
The twins, who have been behind bars since their arrest in July 2016, have been charged with conspiracy and incitement to commit the crime of terrorism and conspiring and attempting to commit acts associated with terrorist activities.
A 13-page indictment of the matter suggests that the twins were attempting to join militant Islamist group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) and that the terrorist activities would have been perpetrated by using firearms, explosives and possibly poisons. The attacks would have been directed at various embassies of countries including the United Kingdom, Russia and the United States based in Pretoria.
Cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro also known as Zapiro and Jewish South African Investment Manager Roy Topol as well as King David High School Linksfield were also listed in the indictment as targets
It’s alleged that in August 2015 one of the twins, Tony-Lee, participated in a series of chats with Abu Fidaa (an ISIL/ISIS network) and others, where he was instructed to attack the best targets involving “US/Brit/French interest in South Africa ” as well as to kill Zapiro.
– African News Agency (ANA)
