§ 105. Mr. Thorpeasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will make a statement about the circumstances in which Mrs. Wentzel was abducted from the Swaziland Protectorate and thereafter transported to the Republic of South Africa.
§ Mr. GreenwoodMrs. Wentzel, a political refugee from South Africa, disappeared from Swaziland in August and was next heard of under detention in South Africa under the 90–day law. She later alleged that she had been abducted from Swaziland to South Africa by a group of men who released her just before she was taken into custody by the South African police. She was released from custody on 20th November and it is understood that she is still in South Africa.
Mrs. Wentzel is not a British subject. Her arrest by the South African police was therefore not of itself a matter in 129W which the British Government could directly concern themselves, and under international practice we had no right of consular access to her. If, however, she was in fact abducted from British territory, this is clearly our concern.
During the period of Mrs. Wentzel's detention the British Ambassador made repeated representations to the South African Government with a view to establishing the facts. The South African authorities state that they have been unable to find any confirmation of the allegation of abduction. A British Consular official has questioned Mrs. Wentzel since her release. The evidence so far available to us, which of course includes the inquiries made by the police in Swaziland, does not fully establish the allegation of abduction. Our inquiries are continuing.