Rath withdraws R1.6m law suit

2006-02-23 16:14

Johannesburg - Vitamin "king" Matthias Rath has withdrawn defamation cases against a number of media and other entities, said Health-e News Service on Thursday.

Rath gave notice in November last year that he intended to sue Health-e and its journalists for R1.6m in damages after a series of reports written and broadcast about the activities of the Rath Foundation, primarily in Khayelitsha and Gugulethu.

Among other things, the series revealed that agents of the Rath Foundation were encouraging people living with HIV to stop taking their antiretroviral medication in favour of the Rath vitamins.

It also was claimed the foundation was conducting an illegal "trial" of the Rath vitamins on people living with HIV/Aids.

Health-e said: "In addition, we revealed that women Rath had paraded for the press, claiming that they were healthy simply from being on his vitamins, had been on ARVs all along.

Decision to withdraw is welcomed

"Rath's decision to withdraw his defamation case vindicates our view that the stories were accurate, contained fair comment and their publication and broadcasting were in the public interest.

"Health-e... welcomes the decision by... Rath to withdraw his defamation case against the agency, employees Anso Thom and Khopotso Bodibe and freelancer Siviwe Minyi and to pay our legal costs to date.

"Our lawyer, Fatima Hassan of the Aids Law Project, was served with withdrawal-of-action notices today," said the agency.

Rath also has withdrawn his cases against Medicins Sans Frontieres' Dr Eric Goemaere, the University of KwaZulu-Natal's Professor Jerry Coovadia and "five of those being sued along with Professor Kader Asmal, but not against Asmal himself".

- SAPA