”All people who are a threat to state security must be silenced in each and every way”, was how a Johannes burg magistrate interpreted the InterÂnal Security Act, in sentencing newsÂpaper editor Max du Preez. The editor of the Vrye Weekblad was found guilty of contravening the Internal Security Act and sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, suspendÂed for five years, in the regional court this week.
The charges relate to an article published in the newspaper last year which indirectly quoted senior AfriÂcan National Congress member Joe Slovo, who may not be quoted in South Africa because he is a listed person. Vrye Weekblad‘s company, Wending Publikasies, was also fined R1000, suspended for five years. In the fourth court appearance this year the newspaper, represented by Du Preez, was acquitted on four other charges of failing to be registered beÂfore publication. This was on grounds that the offence was merely ”technical”. But the fifth charge of contravening the Internal Security Act, to which Du Preez pleaded not guilty, was regardÂed in a far more serious light.
According to Magistrate J Bredenkamp, Du Preez had committed ”such a serious offence that a sentence had to be imposed”. He added that, in his opinion, the Act (the Internal Security Act), spelt out that ”all people who are a threat to state security must be silenced in each and every way”. In passing sentence Bredenkamp conceded that the article was ”indeed objective and not revolutionaryâ€. The article, on November 11, was a summary by University of the Witwatersrand academic, Mar Swilling, of a conference between South African and Soviet academics in West Germany last year. Slovo was one of the participants.
Professor Nina Overton, a communications professor at Rand Afrikaans University, was called by the defence during a previous court appearance. She said it was ”impossible for any newspaper today to publish articles about South African politics and our political future without referring to the arguments of persons on the consolidated (banned) list or their banned organisations”.
On his return to his office after the hearing Du Preez, was informed that three further charges against the Vrye Weekblad were being investigated. These related to alleged subversive statements about military service which appeared in three separate edi¬tions of the paper, the last on February 24 this year. Du Preez yesterday said the ”subversive” quotes came from straightforward reports on the case of conscientious objector Charles Bester. He found it strange that the police took so long to take action, and that they arrived so timeously just after he returned from court. ”We think it is totally absurd, ridiculous and outrageous,” he said. ”It is further evidence of the petty vendetta that the government has against the Vrye Weekblad.”
This article originally appeared in the Weekly Mail.
