The state’s
application for a blanket ban in the trial of two South African
residents accused of being part of an international network of nuclear
technology smugglers was almost unprecedented as the last trial that
was held in camera in its entirety in the US and Britain was in the
17th century, the Pretoria High Court heard yesterday, writes Ernest Mabuza in Business Day.
“Even in the 1980s where witnesses were being killed, our
courts consistently declined an order that is being sought here,â€ÂÂ
counsel for the Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) and other media
organisations Gilbert Marcus SC told Judge Joop Labuschagne yesterday.
The FXI, the Mail & Guardian, the South African
chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa and the South African
National Editors’ Forum are opposing the state’s attempt to close to
the public the trial of Daniel Geiges, a 67-year-old Swiss citizen and
Gerhard Wisser, a 66-year-old German citizen, and their comp-any,
Krisch Engineering. The court reserved judgment yesterday, May 2.
Click here to read the full report, posted on Business Day's website.ÂÂÂ
