WORLD : S. Africa Judge Rules for CBS News
A Supreme Court judge ruled in favor of CBS News today, saying police cannot confiscate news footage merely on the suspicion that it might contain evidence of a violation of emergency regulations.
Judge Jeff Levison ordered the Law and Order Ministry to pay court costs and return the original news tape that had been seized Feb. 9 from a free-lance cameraman working for CBS. Police had allowed CBS to make a copy of the tape, which showed a lawyers’ meeting in a church during the national hunger strike by people detained without charge under the three-year national state of emergency.
The emergency regulations require a policeman to form an opinion that an action endangers the public safety before it can be stopped or evidence seized, Levison said.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
