TV gets go-ahead to show parts of Pistorius’s murder trial live

Pistorius’s lawyers failed in their bid to stop any part of the trial being broadcast as a judge sitting in the North Gauteng High Court, where the trial will open next week, ruled mostly in favour of South African TV and radio applicants.

Judge Dunstan Mlambo’s ruling now opens up much of the trial to the scrutiny of millions of fascinated followers in South Africa and around the world.

“Court proceedings are in fact public and this objective must be recognized,” Mlambo said before delivering his ruling.

Mlambo granted permission to the South African media houses to install three remote-controlled television cameras in “unobtrusive” locations in court at least 72 hours before the trial opens.

A live audio feed can also be broadcast. Still photographs can be taken in court by two other mounted cameras operated by photographers, Judge Mlambo said, but TV footage or photographs cannot show “extreme” close up images of anyone in the court and witnesses who object can stop their testimony from being broadcast.

Pistorius’s lawyers had argued that broadcasting the trial in any way would harm his chances of receiving a fair trial. Brian Webber, the lawyer representing Pistorius in this hearing, declined to comment on the ruling, saying he had yet to study it.

Pistorius was charged with murder a year ago over the shooting death of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp at his upmarket house in the eastern suburbs of the capital, Pretoria, unleashing a wave of intense media interest in the world-famous athlete. He faces a possible sentence of 25 years in prison if he is convicted on the main charge of premeditated murder, which he denies.

Judge Mlambo called Pistorius “a local and international icon” and said his decision was a careful “balancing act” between guaranteeing Pistorius a fair trial and also respecting the freedom of the media.

South African democracy is still relatively young and the justice system is “still perceived as treating the rich and famous with kid gloves whilst being harsh on the poor and vulnerable,” said the judge, who will not preside over the trial.

“Enabling a larger South African society to follow first hand the criminal proceedings which involve a celebrity, so to speak, will go a long way to dispelling these negative and unfounded perceptions about the justice system.”