Criminal cases opened against South African Facebook users

Civil rights group AfriForum on Wednesday opened criminal cases against people who allegedly incited violence on social media platforms.

AfriForum had received complaints from members about tweets and Facebook posts, deputy CEO Ernst Roets said.

The charges laid at the Wierdabrug police station in Pretoria were incitement to murder and incitement to violence.

“There was one [social media post] directed against AfriForum, some were directed against farmers in general, and others were directed against white people.”

Three of the people against whom AfriForum laid the charges had declared allegiance to a particular political party, he said.

Details of the individuals and what they had posted to elicit the complaints could not be divulged as police were investigating.

“Comments published on social media platforms are not indemnified from prosecution,” Roets said.

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