Pistorius trial to be heard live
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- Murder accused Oscar Pistorius stands in the dock of the Pretoria Magistrate's Court before a brief court appearance on 4 June 2013. Pic: Daniel Born.
Johannesburg and Pretoria Judge President Dunstan Mlambo yesterday granted media groups permission to broadcast and photograph the trial, but imposed strict conditions for doing so. Pistorius is to stand trial from Monday for allegedly killing his girlfriend, former Port Elizabeth model Reeva Steenkamp, in his Pretoria home on Valentine’s Day last year.
While audio recording will be allowed, visual recording and photographs will be restricted.
Rules include that only certain parts of the trial can be captured on “unobtrusive” cameras. These will include the opening and closing arguments for both sides and judgment on the merits of the case.
However, no visual images of Pistorius and his witnesses will be allowed and state witnesses who are not police officers or experts may object to their testimony being recorded.
Judge Thokozile Masipa, who will be hearing the case, will have the final say on this, and has the discretion to stop recordings if necessary.
Media groups argued that if the proceedings were not broadcast, only a segment of the community would be kept informed about the trial.
A prohibition on broadcasting would also limit the media’s constitutional right to freedom of expression and the principle of open justice, they argued.
Pistorius opposed the application, arguing that he, his legal team and his witnesses would feel inhibited by pictures being taken and the trial being broadcast.
Also, the broadcast would enable witnesses to fabricate and adapt their evidence based on other testimony.
But Mlambo found it was in the public interest that, “within allowable limits”, the trial be broadcast.
This would “ensure that a greater number of persons in the community who are unable to attend these proceedings due to geographical constraints – to name just one – are able to follow the proceedings wherever they may be”.
Media law expert Dario Milo, of Webber Wentzel, who represented some of the media groups, said the decision heralded a new era in electronic coverage of court cases.
Pistorius’s legal team refused to comment and did not indicate if an appeal would be lodged against the decision.
