White supremacist seeks freedom

South African white supremacist leader Eugene TerreBlanche is seeking his freedom after claiming prison has taught him to control his temper.

The leader of the Neo-Nazi Afrikaner Resistance Movement, who is serving a six year sentence, has filed the affidavit to the Pretoria High Court.

He is in prison for beating a black man so severely he became paralysed and brain damaged.

In the affidavit, he said: "I have been able throughout, even under tremendous provocation, to remain calm, preferring to settle matters through dialogue or negotiation."

He wants to serve the remainder of his term outside jail but under correctional supervision.

He says he has become a born again Christian and is not a threat to society.

TerreBlanche was jailed in March 2001 for attempting to murder former security guard, Paul Motshabi, in March 1996. The attack left Motshabi permanently disabled.

His movement seeks an autonomous state for Afrikaners, the white descendants of Dutch settlers who ruled South Africa during racist apartheid rule