Court Orders Release of Cape Town Gym Trainer After Unlawful Detention Ruling

A Cape Town gym trainer at the centre of an extradition-related legal dispute has been ordered to be released after the court found that his continued detention was unlawful.

The ruling was handed down after the court reviewed the circumstances surrounding his arrest and detention, which formed part of ongoing extradition proceedings linked to a foreign-issued Interpol red notice.

The trainer, identified as Bulgarian national Stanislav Stamenov, was arrested in Cape Town after authorities acted on international alerts connected to a Romanian conviction for drug trafficking. He had been living in South Africa for several years and working in the fitness industry while being sought abroad.

During court proceedings, his legal team challenged the legality of both his arrest and continued detention, arguing that proper legal procedures were not followed and that his rights had been infringed. The court ultimately agreed that his detention could not continue under the current legal framework and ordered his release.

However, the decision does not end the broader legal matter. Authorities are still pursuing extradition processes that could see him re-arrested if procedural requirements are corrected and formal requests are properly finalised.

The case has drawn attention to the complexities of extradition law in South Africa, particularly the balance between international cooperation in criminal matters and strict constitutional protections against unlawful detention.

While the immediate outcome is release, the legal process is expected to continue as both South African authorities and foreign prosecutors pursue their respective positions.