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HRD Attack

22 Sep 2018

Richard Spoor

Incident date
22 Sep 2018
Date accuracy
All Correct
Male
Lawyers and judges
Arbitrary detention
Target: Individual
Location of Incident: South Africa
Other actors

Sources

On 22 Sep 2018, Human rights attorney Richard Spoor was arrested after a heated meeting with mineral resources minister Gwede Mantashe on the Wild Coast, of South Africa, which reportedly ended with tear-gas fired against anti-mining protesters. Spoor represents members of the Xolobeni community who are opposing an Australian-backed venture to mine ilmenite and other heavy minerals on community land south of the Wild Coast. Civil society claims that at the meeting, minister Mantashe was seeking to impose a "pre-cooked pro-mining propaganda” agenda at the meeting‚ without allowing opportunities for engagement by those opposed to mining. Spoor was released on warning on Sunday afternoon, but had to appear in court on Tuesday after being indicted on several charges‚ including assaulting a police officer and incitement to public violence. Amnesty International called for all charges to be dropped immediately and for a probe into the alleged tear-gassing of anti-mining residents by police on the Wild Coast at the weekend.