'Bomb' journo back in court
2010-02-26 20:07
Cape Town - It was unclear on Friday if retired German photo-journalist Berndt Jurgen Fischer would be prosecuted for allegedly telling Cape Town police he had a bomb with him.
Prosecutor Gail October told the city's Magistrate's Court that the director of public prosecutions (DPP) had still not made a decision on the matter.
Fischer, 68, made his third appearance in court on Friday, and at defence attorney Corné Stander's request, Magistrate Vusi Mhlanga postponed the case to March 18.
Fischer allegedly told police at the access-control centre of the Cape Town International Convention Centre in December last year that his camera contained a bomb.
Stander said on Friday he would make representations to the DPP for the withdrawal of the charge, but he first needed details of the charge from the docket.
The incident happened on December 4 last year, when international journalists converged on the centre for the FIFA World Cup draw.
According to the charge sheet, Fischer faces a charge under the Explosives Act.
The State alleges that he "communicated false information, knowing it to be false, regarding explosives".
The German is out on R5 000 bail.
At his bail hearing, he said he was a retired photo-journalist.
He had been visiting South Africa for more than 10 years from November to March, when he did freelance work for various German news agencies.
- SAPA