GAUTENG. – Alexi Bizos, seun van wyle adv. George Bizos, menseregteprokureur, is skuldig bevind nadat hy Monique van Oosterhout gedurende 2015 in hulle huis in Johannesburg aangerand en sy ernstig beseer is.
Barry Bateman, woordvoerder vir AfriForum se private vervolgingseenheid, sê die skuldigbevinding is meer as nege jaar na die voorval gemaak.
Adv. Gerrie Nel het in 2020 met privaat vervolging begin, waarna ‘n verhoordatum verseker is en Bizos nou skuldig bevind is.
Bizos se verweer van selfverdediging vir die aanranding is verwerp en hy is deur die hof as ‘n swak getuie bestempel. Ses van Van Oosterhout se ribbes is in die aanranding gebreek.
Bateman sê die NVG het aanvanklik geweier om te vervolg en nadat die privaatvervolgingseenheid in 2018 die sertifikaat van nolle prosequi (geen vervolging) aangevra het, het die NVG glo ‘n ommeswaai gemaak. Daar is egter weer geweier om Bizos te vervolg, waarna die sertifikaat van die staat se weiering vir vervolging aangevra is en privaat vervolging ingestel is.
Die aangeleentheid is tot 23 Augustus uitgestel, sodat ‘n datum vir vonnisoplegging vasgestel kan word.
Lees AfriForum se privaatvervolgingseenheid se volledige verklaring hier onder:
MEDIA STATEMENT: AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit secures assault conviction against Alexi Bizos
In a victory in the fight against gender-based violence and a prime example of selective prosecution, Alexi Bizos, son of the late human rights lawyer, Adv. George Bizos, was today convicted of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. The Johannesburg Magistrates Court found Bizos guilty more than nine years after punching his ex-wife Monique van Oosterhout at their Joburg home. Adv. Gerrie Nel, Head of AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit, secured a trial date and started the private prosecution in 2020 after the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) failed to prosecute Bizos.
After judgment was handed down, Van Oosterhout said she would never have had the opportunity to tell her story if it wasn’t for AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit. “This is not just justice for my case, but justice for every single woman who’s been abused, accused, shamed and blamed. This should not be happening. I am also very keenly aware that if AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit had not taken up my case when I asked them for legal advice, we would not be here,” she said.
Barry Bateman, spokesperson for the Unit, says: “AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit will continue its fight to ensure nobody is above the law. This conviction exposes the NPA’s selective prosecution and vindicates our belief that the decision not to prosecute Bizos was because of his relationship to the well-known George Bizos. The magistrate found that the accused was a poor witness and evasive and that his testimony was littered with inconsistencies, The court also rejected his claim that he was in fact the victim and was acting in self-defence. On the other hand, the court found Van Oosterhout to be a good witness who painted a logical and clear picture of what happened.”
Bizos was convicted of assaulting Van Oosterhout in 2015, breaking six of her ribs. The NPA initially declined to prosecute him, but after AfriForum’s announcement in 2018 that his Private Prosecution Unit had applied for a nolle prosequi certificate to prosecute Bizos, the NPA made an about-turn. Bizos was then invited to make representations to the NPA before the prosecution was instituted but upon receipt of his reply, the NPA yet again decided not to prosecute. This prompted Van Oosterhout, with the unit’s support, to apply for a certificate to privately prosecute Bizos.
The matter has been postponed to 23 August to set a date for sentencing argument to take place.
