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South Africa: Aussie Mining Company 'SLAPP Suit' Partly Settled Out of Court
GroundUp, 22 November 2023
Six South African defendants have reached an agreement with Mineral Commodities Ltd Read more »
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South Africa: Moti Group Accused of Bringing SLAPP Suit
GroundUp, 22 June 2023
Media freedom organisations have asked to join court proceedings in the amaBhungane "gagging" case Read more »
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South Africa: AmaBhungane Fights Back
GroundUp, 10 June 2023
The investigative journalist outfit has applied to court to urgently reconsider the "gagging order" curbing its reporting on the Moti Group Read more »
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South Africa: Concerns Rise Over Gag Order On South African Journalism Outlet
VOA, 9 June 2023
Two very different cases in South Africa this week have both confirmed the country's position as a bastion of the free press, and conversely also shown how the media is under… Read more »
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South Africa: Environmental Activists Revise Pleas in 'SLAPP Case' Brought By Australian Miners #AfricaClimateCrisis
GroundUp, 1 February 2023
Marathon legal battle against R14.25-million defamation case continues Read more »
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South Africa: ConCourt Hands Critics of Australian Mine Partial Victory - but Defamation Battle Is Not Over
GroundUp, 14 November 2022
It is up to Parliament to develop more comprehensive SLAPP suit defence, says court Read more »
Australian Mine's 'SLAPP' Case Partly Settled In South Africa
According to GroundUp, just over half of the claims in a long-running U.S.$759,802 (R14.25 million) "SLAPP" defamation action, brought by Australian mining interests against six South African environmentalists and social activists have been settled out of court, though terms of the settlement agreement are confidential.
SLAPP, an acronym for Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation, describes a legal strategy typically employed by wealthy individuals or large corporations, to sue critics for huge defamation damages in order to discourage, censor, intimidate and silence them or to tie them up in lengthy and very expensive court action.
The legal saga saw charges of defamation levelled against six South African activists in pursuit of two mining ventures aiming to mine titanium in Xolobeni on the Wild Coast of the Eastern Cape province, and the Tormin mineral sands project on the West Coast in the Western Cape. The case resulted in new emphasis on potential environmental damage caused by heavy industry.
InFocus
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A defamation case brought by an Australian company mining on the West Coast and Xolobeni against activists and environmentalists will be heard in the Constitutional Court,
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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 »
These are the defendants in defamation suits brought by Australian mining company MRC. From left to right: Cormac Cullinan, Davine Cloete, John GI Clarke, Tracey Davies, Riaan Oberholzer, Mzamo Dlamini, Tossie Beukes and Christine Reddell. The claims against Beukes, a journalist and Oberholzer, her publisher, have been dropped.
