- A man who wrote threatening and abusive tweets targeting the Jewish community has been sentenced to three years in prison for crimen injuria.
- Matome Letsoalo was convicted earlier this week by the Randburg Magistrate's Court.
- The South African Jewish Board of Deputies described this as a first-ever criminal verdict in an anti-semitism case in South Africa.
A man who was found guilty of making abusive comments targeting the Jewish community, has been sentenced to three years in prison, suspended for five years.
Matome Letsoalo was convicted by the Randburg Magistrate's Court on 23 October in a landmark case, following his threatening and abusive tweets in 2018 targeting the Jewish community.
South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) national director Wendy Kahn welcomed the court's decision.
She said:
Kahn said the ruling had established an important precedent for similar cases that the SAJBD might have to pursue in future.
In a statement following the conviction, the SAJBD said this was the first-ever criminal verdict in an anti-semitism case in the country.
Hate speech
In June 2018, SAJBD laid a complaint against Letsoalo, accusing him of anti-semitic hate speech, News24 reported.
SAJBD received a message from Letsoalo reading:
"@SAJBD The #Holocaust Will be like a Picnic When we are done with all you Zionist B*******. F*** All of You".
The message was accompanied by an image of Holocaust victims, it said.
Letsoalo sent a second message reading:
"@SAJBD Must get Decimated. We Can't have Scandinavian Rats, Fake Jews, Zionist Bastards Running our Economy."