CAPE TOWN - The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) says it is willing to settle a hate speech case against Afrikaans singer Sunette Bridges out of court.

The matter was heard in the Equality Court sitting in the Western Cape High Court yesterday. The commission has accused Bridges of hosting commentary on her Facebook page that constitutes hate speech.

The commission says it wants Bridges to apologise and remove the comments. The commission’s Bridgit Rubinstein says, “It is actually an established principle in our law that the publisher or the host of a Facebook page can be held liable for comments that are posted on a page if they aren’t contradicted or removed.”

But Bridges' lawyer Paul Kruger says his client has denied being guilty of hate speech. “What the applicant in fact wants the Human Rights Commission, in our view, is impossible to do. I’m very glad that in fact the judge made the ruling that we have to have evidence in that regard.”

http://m.ewn.co.za/2015/01/21/SAHRC-...s-to-apologise