South African Sentenced To Two Years For Racist Comments

We have previously discussed the alarming rollback on free speech rights in the West, particularly in France (here and here and here and here and here and here) and England ( here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here).  Even the Home Secretary has been accused of hate speech for criticizing immigrant workers.  South Africa now appears to have crossed the Rubicon of speech criminalization with a two-year sentence for a white woman, Vicki Momberg, who espoused racist statements in a confrontation with a police officer. The prosecution is being heralded as the start of a new era for speech prosecutions.

This is the first time for such a sentencing and, if history is any guide, it will not likely be the last as the appetite for speech criminalization increases.

Deputy Justice Minister John Jeffery declared “For too long people have been able to say appalling things and get away effectively with a slap on the wrist.”  Jeffery and others are now able to imprison all those people saying “appalling things” until everyone with appalling views are safely locked away.