Man to be charged for uploading video of Ryder-assault accused

Johannesburg: A man may be charged for breaching a court suppression order by uploading a video of the two men accused of attacking New Zealand cricketer Jesse Ryder on the internet.

The man, a 37-year-old builder, who is also a witness to the attack outside a bar in Christchurch, filmed the accused persons leaving court on Thursday on his cell phone and posted it to YouTube and Facebook, along with publishing their names online, Sport24 reports. The report further said that the accused said that he had no intention of removing the video, which still remains on YouTube and has gained more than 7600 views. According to Canterbury-Westland branch president of the Law Society Rachel Dunningham, anyone who breached a suppression order could face up to a 50,000 dollar-fine or a maximum of six months in prison. Dunningham further said they could be charged with breaching the Criminal Procedure Act or held in contempt of court. Stating that suppression orders were made for good reasons, Dunningham said that people needed to be aware that everyone, and not just the media, was bound by name suppression orders, adding that with the advance of the internet, people have powerful publication tools at their fingertips and can cause just as much damage to a fair trial as mainstream media. ANI