Prosecutions of publications and editors, and police action against journalists, have been the principal means by which the regime has attempted to censor the media in recent months. There has been no suspension of publications under emergency regulations since February, when Grassroots and New Era were closed for three months.
Restrictions on reporting intensified during the election period, in an attempt to prevent coverage of the defiance campaign. During August 74 journalists were arrested whilst reporting protests or participating in protests against media restrictions. On 30 August, 12 Argus reporters holding a placard demonstration against restrictions outside their office were charged with attending an illegal gathering. Similar charges against 14 Cape Times journalists followed another placard protest on 5 September.
During August and September police briefly held reporters and confiscated photographic materials before taking violent action against protesters. A film crew covering a protest against the Labour Relations Amendment Act in the Western Cape on 5 September was charged with attending an illegal gathering. At a protest march in Cape Town on 2 September, police seized tapes and arrested 52 journalists: two were held and charged under emergency regulations. The Cape Times was under investigation for publishing a photograph of police action against the marchers.
Action was taken against several publications for quoting 'listed' persons in contravention of the Internal Security Act. In June a court imposed suspended sentences of six months imprisonment on the editor and a R1,000 fine on the publishers of Vrye Weekblad for quoting Joe Slovo, the secretary-general of the South African Communist Party. The Sowetan, Weekly Mail and New Nation face similar charges for reports quoting Harry Gwala. The editor of the Sunday Times and a reporter were acquitted in September but the publishers were fined R2,000. Saamstaan and the Burger were under police investigation.
The emergency regulations have been used against papers alleged to have published 'subversive statements'. Most of the affected reports date from 1987. Charges against an editor of the Weekly Mail and two former journalists concern a report exposing the treatment of emergency detainees. Reports of the detainees' hunger strike in January have been under police scrutiny since February. A former editor of South and former reporters for the University of Cape Town newspaper Varsity were charged for reports on school boycotts. Similar charges were being investigated against Saamstaan, Vrye Weekblad and the editors of the Rhodes University student paper.
Saamstaan was charged under the Prisons Act for publishing Nelson Mandela's photograph in June and was informed of possible charges under the Police and Prisons Act. In June police seized 300 copies covering the trial of a policeman sentenced to 12 years for beating to death a young activist, Andile 'Ace' Kobe.
Other forms of harassment of journalists have continued. Police seized copy from the offices of several publishers and searched journalists' homes. Reporters on the Durban newspaper New African suffered burns to their eyes when opening a copy of New Nation sent in the post. In August a freelance journalist in Cape Town revealed that police recruited him to infiltrate the media during his detention in 1987. In another case, police denied having put pressure on a Lenasia-based reporter to work for them.
