Ms. Momberg was prosecuted under a long-established legal principle, crimen injuria, which involves harming a person’s dignity. “I think this will be a deterrent.”The government has drafted a bill specifically to outlaw hate speech, prompting a fierce debate about the limits of free speech in a democratic society. The proposed hate speech law, which would include civil and criminal penalties, “would be a backward step for civil liberties in democratic South Africa,” he said. But testimony against her indicated that she had used racist language and expressed racist views in other contexts. Advertisement Continue reading the main storyMagistrate Raghoonandan said she did not believe that the defendant was remorseful.

Source: New York Times March 28, 2018 19:55 UTC