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South Africa: SLAPP in the Face for Australian Mining Company
GroundUp, 10 February 2021
Western Cape Deputy Judge President Patricia Goliath has ruled that the defamation action brought by Australian mining interests against six South Africans constitutes a SLAPP… Read more »
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South Africa: Court Checks Corporate Bullying
GroundUp, 11 February 2021
Tuesday's judgment in the mining company case provides key insights into how to recognise a SLAPP suit Read more »
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Africa: Mining Companies Try to Slap Environmental Activists Down
allAfrica, 3 July 2020
African citizens and local community groups which campaign on environmental issues are increasingly being sued by corporations in what activists regard as attempts to silence them.… Read more »
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South Africa: 'SLAPP' Suit to Define Legal Landscape in Environmental, Mining Cases Forever?
allAfrica, 10 July 2020
A South African court has heard the first part of a U.S. $1.3 million defamation suit that may have a profound impact on free speech in the country’s future. Read more »
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South Africa: Defamation Case Aims to Censor Activists, Says Budlender
GroundUp, 10 June 2020
Case has begun in Cape High Court involving three environmental lawyers and three activists who were critical of mines in Xolobeni and Lutzville Read more »
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South Africa: Case Brought By Aussie Miners Is 'An Abuse of Legal Process' Say Defendants
GroundUp, 11 June 2020
Plaintiffs warn of "dangerous" development of the law if defendants' pleas upheld Read more »
Huge Legal Victory for Environmental Activism in South Africa
A series of defamation lawsuits brought by Australian mining company Mineral Commodities Ltd (MRC) and its local subsidiary, against six environmental activists, is an abuse of the legal process, the South African High Court has ruled. MRC and its subsidiary sued the defendants for approximately U.S.$ 980 000. In her judgment, Deputy Judge President Patricia Goliath found that SLAPP (Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation) was a viable defence for the activists and public interest lawyers against the mining companies' claims. As the environmental and climate justice movement grows in response to the climate crisis and ecological breakdown, environmental activists who criticise corporations that contribute to climate change and destruction of biodiversity are facing growing threats and intimidation. The defendants in this case have hailed the judgment as a victory for free speech.
InFocus
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African citizens and local community groups which campaign on environmental issues are increasingly being sued by corporations in what activists regard as attempts to silence them. ... Read more »
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A "consultation" meeting between the Xolobeni community in the Eastern Cape and Minister of Mineral Resources Gwede Mantashe over the issuing of a titanium mining licence to ... Read more »
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"We will never stop fighting against the mining. It will take away our land," said Xolobeni community member Siyabonga Ndovela after the North Gauteng High Court ruled that the ... Read more »
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The Amadiba Crisis Committee has long battled to prevent Transworld Energy and Mineral Resources from getting rights to mine titanium in Xolobeni, a village in Umgungundlovu on the ... Read more »
