Sharpeville Survivors Seek To Overturn South Africa's 1961 Indemnity Act

According to the BBC, survivors and relatives of people killed in the 1960 Sharpeville massacre have filed a High Court case in South Africa seeking to overturn the 1961 Indemnity Act, which protected police and the apartheid government from criminal or civil claims over the killings. The case, brought by Lawyers for Human Rights and UK law firm Leigh Day, argues the law is unconstitutional under South Africa's post-1994 constitution and could pave the way for a class action involving about 70 people, as well as possible criminal charges if any alleged perpetrators are still alive. At least 69 protesters were shot dead by police on 21 March 1960, though recent estimates by South African researchers put the death toll at as many as 91. The BBC reported that Abraham Mofokeng, now 86, and another survivor, Larazus Magotsi, now 90, are among those backing the legal challenge. South Africa's justice department said 560 Truth and Reconciliation Commission-recognized victims of apartheid-era violence had received individual grants totaling about $31 million, and said it did not oppose survivors and families pursuing legal remedies.