JOHANNESBURG - The case against five suspects accused of contravening the Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Act has been postponed to 8 December.
Five suspects charged with contravening the Foreign Military Assistance Act have made their first court appearance.
They were arrested at OR Tambo International Airport.
Police removed them from a flight headed to Russia via the UAE after a tip-off.
Legal expert Melusi Xulu said, "It deals with offering military assistance to foreign states or possibly organs of the state or any entity as stated in the act."
"It has nothing to do necessarily with terrorism, except that you are precluded, as a South African citizen, to offer military assistance without the approval or the authorisation of the committee that deals with that."
"The contravention of this act is dealt with in Section Two and Three of the Act, where it states that if you offer military assistance to any state, organ of the state or entity or group of persons, you can't do that unless you get the approval or an agreement from the committee."
"The name of this committee is the National Convention of Arms Control Committee and it consults with the Minister of Defence. So any South African citizen cannot do that without authorisation," Xulu said.
He said a conviction could result in a hefty fine or even imprisonment.