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A man was convicted of anti-Semitism.
- A man who wrote threatening and abusive tweets against the Jewish community was found guilty of the crime of libel.
- Matome Letsoalo was convicted by the Randburg Magistrates Court.
- The South African Board of Jewish Deputies described this as the first criminal verdict in an anti-Semitism case in South Africa.
A man accused of making derogatory comments on social media directed at the Jewish community has been found guilty of the crime of libel.
Matome Letsoalo was convicted by the Randburg Magistrates Court on Friday, following his threatening and abusive tweets in 2018 targeting the Jewish community.
In a statement, the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) said this was the first criminal verdict in an anti-Semitism case in the country.
In June 2018, SAJBD filed a complaint against Letsoalo, accusing him of anti-Semitic hate speech, News24 reported.
SAJBD got a message from Letsoalo reading, “@SAJBD The #Holocaust will be like a picnic when we finish with all of you Zionist B *******. F *** All of you.”
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The message was accompanied by a picture of the victims of the Holocaust, he said.
Letsoalo sent a second message saying: “@SAJBD must be decimated. We cannot have Scandinavian rats, fake Jews, Zionist bastards running our economy.”
SAJBD National Director Wendy Kahn described the guilty verdict as a “vindication of more than two years of efforts by the SAJBD and its legal advisers to hold Letsoalo to account for his actions.”
Kahn said:
“This result sends a strong message that threatening and hateful attacks against our community will not be tolerated and that the SAJBD will do whatever it takes to bring those responsible to justice, no matter how long it takes.”
Attorney Ian Levitt, whose firm represented the SAJBD, said that despite the delays, which were mostly caused by Covid-19, “we are not swayed in our determination that Letsoalo be convicted.”
“We will continue to assist in the prosecution of those who attack our community, apparently with impunity, and we hope that this sentence will be a lesson for those who do,” he said.
Letsoalo was expected to appear in court on Friday for sentencing proceedings.
– Compiled by Jeanette Chabalala
