Commenting on Benoni magistrate Seka Monaledi decision to admit OUT as a friend of the court, the group's attorney, Kerry Williams, of Webber Wentzel Attorneys, said the ruling was "trailblazing".
"It means," Williams said "that in the future, civil society organisations will be able to put this kind of evidence before the courts." Last month, three men were convicted of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm after they had beaten up a young gay man in a bar. He was punched, struck with wooden chairs and hit on the head with a metal spanner. While he was being beaten, the three men called him "moffie" and "faggot". The victim also testified that one of his attackers had said he had no reason to live because he was gay.
The three are yet to be sentenced. Beyond a minimum sentence, this is left to the discretion of the magistrate, who looks at the circumstances and decides what is appropriate in each case. In its application to intervene as a friend of the court, OUT's Juan Nel told Business Day, when deciding the sentence, the magistrate should take into account that this was not just an ordinary assault, but was also a hate crime and that such crimes had devastating effects on the victim, his community and society at large. Hate crimes, Prof Nel said, "attack a person's identity and thus have an impact on self-esteem and self-worth".
Read the full article on www.businessday.co.za.
