South Africa - Artist Found Guilty Of Hate Speech

Mpumalanga,South Africa - A man who painted anti-Semitic graffiti on the walls of his Jewish neighbor's home was found guilty of hate speech in the first such case to come before the equality court.

Gerhard Barkhuizen was found guilty in the equality court in White River, Mpumalanga, on the grounds that he knew his neighbor was of Jewish origin and that the slogans and symbols of anti-Semitism were offensive. His punishment will be announced later this month.
Yaron Fishman, a businessman who has South African citizenship and has lived in the country more than 20 years, complained about Barkhuizen's slogans to the Human Rights Commission last August. Barkhuizen painted a swastika and the phrase Habrizo Mamzer, which means "spiteful Hebrew bastard".

"I am happy with the judgment because it sets a precedent for all South Africans to realize that the verdict will influence future incidents of hate speech," Fishman said. He said the verdict confirmed that South Africa's legal system was fair and working well for people who believed their rights had been violated. "Although I was born in Israel, South Africa has been home for more than 20 years, I also have citizenship. I have friends across the rainbow but not once did I expect something like this to happen to me," he said.

South Africa's equality law - the promotion of equality and prevention of unfair discrimination act - prohibits hate speech.