WORLD : 2 S. Africa Papers Win Suit
A judge today exonerated two newspapers accused of defaming a policeman and said he believed the evidence that linked the officer to alleged death squads.
Johan Kriegler’s ruling was a major victory for the press in a country with a history of strict media control. It was particularly significant following the controversial ruling by a government commission, which concluded last year that no proof existed of police death squads that target anti-apartheid activists.
Lt. Gen. Johan Neethling, a police forensics expert, sued the Vrye Weekblad and Weekly Mail newspapers for $600,000 after they printed allegations that he gave police poison to use on anti-apartheid activists.
Allegations of police death squads were raised by a former policeman, Almond Nofomela, in October, 1989, on the day before he was to be executed for a murder with no political overtones.
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