Open Secrets, an organisation which exposes economic crimes and human rights abuses, has been issued a prepublication gag order, reports GroundUp. This is according to a statement released by the organisation yesterday.

While there have been several such gag orders in recent years, all subsequently overturned or rendered moot, this one appears to be especially draconian.

The gag order bars the organisation from disclosing anything related to a matter of ‘significant public importance’, according to Open Secrets.

This includes the names of the parties involved. 

Not even the judge’s name or the court where the gag order was issued may be published.

’What we can say is simple: efforts to muzzle public-interest journalism endanger everyone’s right to know’, Open Secrets said.

Despite the constitutional protection for freedom of expression and media freedom in SA, High Court judges have issued prepublication gag orders against journalists at least twice this year.

There is legal precedent that gag orders should rarely be granted.

In 2007, the SCA ruled that the press should not be stopped in advance from reporting a story, unless there are highly exceptional circumstances.

This precedent was relied on by Judge Roland Sutherland in the widely publicised press freedom case in which businessman Zunaid Moti tried to stop amaBhungane from publishing about him.

Open Secrets will challenge the gag order with help from attorneys at PowerLaw Africa, an alliance of public interest law firms.

It is understood that Open Secrets can bring a counter-application within 24 hours, but without further knowledge of the details, it is uncertain how the process will unfold, or even what stage it is at.

Full GroundUp report