Leave me alone, Marli asks media
Marli van Breda, whose family members were killed in their Stellenbosch home last year, has filed a statement at the high court in Pretoria.
|||Pretoria - Marli van Breda, whose family members were killed in their Stellenbosch home last year, just wants to be left alone as the ongoing reporting by the media causes her stress and embarrassment.
“She keeps on asking me if there is anything that can be done so that she could just be left alone”, advocate Louise Buikman, who was appointed to act as her curator, said in a statement filed at the high court in Pretoria.
This statement forms part of an application by the Centre for Child Law in which it wants certain provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act to be interpreted to include a total ban on the media identifying victims of crime once they have turned 18.
As things stand, the law prohibits the media from identifying children under 18, but it is somewhat unclear what the situation is after the child turns 18. On the media’s interpretation of the law, children can be identified as soon as they have turned 18, subject to certain limitations.
The centre, however, also wants child offenders and accused protected after they have turned 18. Currently, offenders under 18 may not be identified, but the argument of Professor Ann Skelton, head of the centre, is that both victim and offender should not forfeit their protection under the law once they have turned 18.
This proposed ban on the media identifying child offenders and victims is being vigorously opposed by several major media houses, including Independent Media, owners of the Pretoria News and IOL.
The media’s arguments include that it would not only infringe on the right to open justice and freedom of expression - both of the media and the public - but it would also restrict the right of former child victims to tell their stories in the media.
Skelton seeks to have a total ban on identifying witnesses and offenders once they have turned 18, but said if the media deemed it necessary, it should approach the court in each case to have the ban lifted.
This heated argument will be battled out in the high court next year, but no date has yet been set for the hearing.
The application was sparked by the case of Zephany Nurse, now 18, who was abducted when she was a baby. Her story made headlines when it was earlier this year discovered that she was abducted in 1997 from Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town. The woman who allegedly stole her, raised her and is now facing criminal charges.
The media did not reveal Zephany’s real name, as she was 17 when her story came to light. She, however turned to the court a few days before she turned 18, as she feared the media would identify her.
The media was interdicted from identifying her, pending the outcome of the legal battle between the centre and the media houses in this regard.
In her latest affidavit filed with the court, she highlighted the case of Marli van Breda, to whom Skelton refers as MVB, although her name has been published in the media.
Skelton said it would have been possible for the media to report on her, without identifying the now 18-year-old. She referred to Buikman’s statement, in which she said Marli had been stalked by the media and personal details regarding her were made public.
According to Buikman, the protection of her anonymity will allow her the best chance of creating a normal life.
“She may one day decide to open up to the media, but it will then be on her terms.”
zelda.venter@inl.co.za
Pretoria News