Adam Catzavelos hides his face as he leaves the Randburg Magistrate Court after his case of crimen injuria was postponed to next month to allow him to appoint his own attorney on Tuesday, 28 May 2019 – Photo: Gallo Images / Phill Magakoe
Adam Catzavelos hides his face as he leaves the Randburg Magistrate Court after his case of crimen injuria was postponed to next month to allow him to appoint his own attorney on Tuesday, 28 May 2019 – Photo: Gallo Images / Phill Magakoe
Adam Catzavelos returns to the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on Thursday morning to face charges of hate speech, after he filmed himself using the K-word on a Greek beach last August. The holidaymaker gained instant notoriety when the video went viral, making him a national pariah in the process.
Adam Catzavelos could be saved by “jurisdiction”
He has been officially charged with crimen injuria. Both the EFF and the SA Human Rights Commission had filed complaints, with the SAHRC submitting their affidavits to the court last week. It’s likely the defendant will face a hefty fine, but the prospect of jail time looks increasingly slim.
In fact, there’s a threat to him even being convicted at all. Because Catzavelos committed this slur in a foreign country, the jurisdiction of the courts has come under question. Whether a South African court can prosecute him for his actions in Greece remains a legal grey area – and any decision will “set a precedent” going forward.
Those who say he can be prosecuted:
Gift Kgomosotho of SA’s Human Rights Commission previously told us that Catzavelos could quite easily face charges in Mzansi for actions committed abroad. He believes that all citizens are still subject to the rules and regulations of South Africa even when overseas, and there are genuine grounds for a conviction.
The NPA also stated that “there are firm grounds” to secure a prosecution: The video may have been taken in Greece, but it was shared and circulated in South Africa. It was distributed back to Mzansi by Adam Catzavelos himself, opening up the debate about which “laws of the land” he has contravened.
Those who say he can’t be prosecuted:
On the flip-side of this particular coin, it seems the differences between racism laws in Greece and South Africa are incredibly vast. This now poses a problem, according to some legal experts. Using the K-word in South Africa is seen as a morally abhorrent thing to do, but it does not carry the same weight in the Mediterranean.
One school of thought suggests that the racial slur was uttered in a country where it is not deemed a criminal act, and therefore, Catzavelos could be let off the hook: If a South African does something illegal by our laws in another nation – where that action is not seen as a crime – there’s nothing Mzansi’s legislature could do about it.
These points will come under scrutiny when the trial resumes on Thursday morning. Things will be far from straight forward, but whatever decision eventuates from this case, it will likely be used as the “rule of thumb” for all similar hearings in the future.
