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JOHANNESBURG, Dec. 29 (AP) — Three white men in South Africa have been charged with attempted murder, among other crimes, over an alleged racist attack on two black boys that sparked outrage.
The men were caught on video attacking black teenagers who were using the swimming pool at the Marcelspout resort in Free State province.
The men tried to stop the teens from swimming, claiming that the pool was reserved for whites.
The video, which has gone viral on South African social media, shows the men yelling at the boys and beating them. One of the men pushed one of the boys underwater.
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Further security footage showed the men trying to stop the teen from entering the pool, and a group of white men who were swimming at the time left the pool as soon as the black teen entered.
Johan Nel, 33, and Jan Stephanus van der Westhuizen, 47, were released after a warning and are expected to appear in court again next year, according to police.
Police Commissioner Baile Motswenyane said: “Both appeared in court for common assault and criminal injury, the matter was adjourned until January 25, 2023 and released with caution.”
A third suspect is expected to appear in court on Thursday, when various parties and activities protested outside the courthouse.
The incident was widely condemned, including by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
“As black and white South Africans, we should be united in condemning all manifestations of racism and trying to explain or defend such crimes. Racism is not just a problem for black South Africans to solve,” Ramaphosa said in a statement .
Members of the left-wing Economic Freedom Fighters party visited the resort and demanded an answer from the manager, who claimed the resort had no apartheid policies.
Racism remains a thorny issue in South Africa nearly 30 years after its transition from white minority rule (known as apartheid) to democracy.
In 2018, real estate agent Vicky Momberg was sentenced to three years in prison for yelling racial slurs at a black police officer, a landmark verdict in 2018, the first person to go to jail for a racist act.
In 2020, Adam Catzavelos, who is white, was found guilty of criminal assault and given a suspended sentence after using a racist slur in a video that circulated on social media. (Associated Press)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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