Treason case against AfriForum, Solidarity on shaky legal ground - Advocate Paul Hoffman
Hoffman casts doubt on the state’s chances, as the government launches a probe into AfriForum and Solidarity’s spread of misinformation in the United States.
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702 and CapeTalk's Africa Melane is joined by Advocate Paul Hoffman of the Institute for Accountability in Southern Africa.
Listen below:
One of the country's leading legal minds has cast doubt on the likely success of a case of treason being brought against Afriforum and the Solidarity Movement.
The organisations are facing a high-stakes government investigation of treason, after allegations that they supplied false and damaging information to the United States government regarding the treatment of white South African farmers.
Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni confirmed the probe during a parliamentary session, warning that 'treasonous acts cannot be left unpunished'.
It's believed the alleged claims made by AfriForum and Solidarity to American authorities may have influenced the US government's decision to grant refugee status to 49 white Afrikaners.
Hoffman says the case is unlikely to get off the ground.
ALSO READ: Are treason charges against AfriForum a waste of the Hawks' time?
"The definition of treason does not include anything the minister mentioned in Parliament."
- Advocate Paul Hoffman, Institute for Accountability in Southern Africa
ALSO READ: The unintended consequences of pursuing treason charges against AfriForum
Hoffman explains that treason is a 'common law' crime.
"That means there isn't a statute or an Act of Parliament... it means the crime of treason has been developed by the courts and by application of a common law offence."
- Advocate Paul Hoffman, Institute for Accountability in Southern Africa
How do the courts define 'treason'?
'Any unlawful act by a person who owes allegiance to the state with the intention of':
1. Overthrowing the government of the Republic.
2. Coercing the government, through violence, into any action or inaction.
3. Violating, threatening or endangering the existence, independence or security of the Republic.
4. Changing the Constitutional structure of the Republic.
"... misinformation is not even mentioned in the definition."
- Advocate Paul Hoffman, Institute for Accountability in Southern Africa
ALSO READ: AfriForum says treason allegations filed against it have no grounds
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