(FXI/IFEX) – The following is a 3 May 2001 FXI press release: Media statement for immediate release RE: Subpoena of photojournalist Benny Gool by Directorate of Special Operations 3 May 2001 The Freedom of Expression Institute is shocked that a subpoena has been issued to photojournalist Benny Gool to testify in the murder trial of […]
(FXI/IFEX) – The following is a 3 May 2001 FXI press release:
Media statement for immediate release
RE: Subpoena of photojournalist Benny Gool by Directorate of Special Operations
3 May 2001
The Freedom of Expression Institute is shocked that a subpoena has been issued to photojournalist Benny Gool to testify in the murder trial of Hard Livings gang leader Rashaad Staggie. Gool was present at the murder, and took pictures which have since been widely published. The subpoena has been issued by the Directorate of Special Operations, and Gool is supposed to testify in court on 14 May 2001.
The issuing of the subpoena flies in the face of an agreement reached with the South African National Editors’ Forum, the Department of Justice and the Department of Safety and Security. According to this agreement, no more subpoenas would be issued against journalists without prior consultation. The issuing of the subpoena violates the letter and spirit of the agreement, and we are confounded that the Directorate has treated the agreement with such contempt. The FXI also commends Gool for his principled decision not to testify. Gool has been through an extremely trying time since the murder, and his courage in taking this stance is exemplary.
The subpoena places Gool in an extremely precarious position as a photojournalist. We understand that he will be expected to verify the pictures he took of the Staggie murder, and he may also be subjected to cross-examination: needless to say, it is unclear as to the range of questions that may be asked of Gool under cross-examination. Placing Gool in this position may well fuel a perception on the part of the public that journalists are acting as agents of the police, assisting them in undertaking their investigations. This perception will destroy the ability of journalists to report and picture what is going on; photojournalists are particularly in danger if their work is seen as extensions of the evidence gathering process. Many people were present at the murder of Staggie, including a large contingent of police, who apparently did not record the murder themselves. The police should take responsibility for their own incompetence in this respect, and should not expect Gool – who witnessed and recorded the murder in his professional capacity – to violate his own ethical obligations to provide the evidence. Also, for the Directorate to subpoena Gool smacks of investigative laziness as any number of witnesses could be subpoenaed.
However, what is even more disturbing is that the issuing of the subpoena literally places Gool’s life in danger. So far, at least seven state witnesses against anti-drug vigilantes have been murdered since May 1998, leading to other witnesses changing their minds about testifying. One key witness, Zaid Abrahams, was murdered after leaving the witness protection programme, while two other witnesses were murdered while under witness protection. For the Directorate to have issued this subpoena under these conditions is reckless in the extreme, as it jeopardises Gool’s safety, and by extension calls into question the safety of other journalists reporting on vigilante activity in the Western Cape.
It is also ironic that the Directorate has issued the subpoena on the eve of World Press Freedom Day, and confirms their knack for bad timing given the fact that raids were conducted on numerous media houses in relation to the Staggie murder on Media Freedom Day last year. It is difficult to fathom what message the government intends to communicate by attacking media freedom on the very day when it is commemorated. Such actions will only serve to strain media-government relations even further, which we believe is ultimately not in the interests of the free flow of information in South Africa.
