A new law was introduced in the South African Senate during June which drastically curtails the right of the press to report the names of detainees.
The Second Police Amendment Act of 1980 will prohibit the publication without police permission of the names of persons arrested under the Terrorism Act. It also prevents reporting on "the constitution, movements, deployment or methods used by the police, Defence Force or railway police, acting to prevent or combat terrorist activities as defined by the Terrorism Act". Nothing may be published about any person or group against whom such police action is directed. Penalties are up to eight years' imprisonment and/or a fine up to R1500.
Soon after the Bill was first published, the Minister of Police announced that it had been decided to remove clause (1)(b) in section 27c which would have prevented the publication without exception of the names of detainees under the General Laws Amendment Act (14-day detention) as well as the Terrorism Act.
However, the Minister later confirmed that, as the Act now stands, information on Terrorism Act detainees can only be published with police permission, as this comes under the clause preventing publication of details of police action against 'terrorist activities', and includes arrests. In effect this means that if the press learn of a detention, from a friend or family member, they must apply to the police for permission to print the name, which is unlikely to be granted. Only in cases where the police disclose that the person is being held under the GLA provisions will it be possible to print the name.
There has been widespread condemnation of this move in South Africa. Professor John Dugard of Witwatersrand University said the law now made it "difficult to avoid the conclusion that the country has stepped into the realm of the police state". As the courts were unable to intervene in cases of detention, he added, the new law removed "the sole remaining protection for the detainee - publicity".
The SACC, the SAIRR and the Black Sash issued a joint statement saying the law was "objectionable, sinister and vicious" and could lead to people simply disappearing. If no information on persons detained can be published, deaths in detention such as Steve Biko's cannot be reported either, and the public may never know what has happened.
