Defence counsel Piet Pistorius and Paul Kruger, who represent several of the accused, told Judge Eben Jordaan their clients felt deeply aggrieved by an Afrikaans talk radio show on RSG last Friday afternoon in which they claimed they were ridiculed.
The programme centred on the trial and especially reports that the Boeremag allegedly planned to use the Armscor building in Pretoria as a "breeding facility" to create a new nation and had planned to kill Afrikaans comedian Casper de Vries.
The judge pointed out that state witness Henk van Zyl had never testified that it was the Boeremag's plan.
What Van Zyl had in fact testified, was that alleged Boeremag leader Tom Vorster had said during a conversation in a car that he would like to have a building like the Armscor building to keep a bunch of women so that they could be inseminated with the sperm of Boeremag men to create a new nation.
Later during the conversation Van Zyl told Vorster he thought they should kill De Vries because he was not on the right path.
Pistorius said as the SABC was "an extension of the ANC/SACP government", it was to be expected that they would follow a certain policy and would make a mockery of the Boeremag accused.
He said objective reporting had clearly flown out of the window during Friday's radio programme. This type of programme did not aid the administration of justice in this country.
Pistorius complained bitterly that journalists tended to report what was sensational in the trial, but did not report about aspects that were put into perspective during cross-examination of witnesses.
Pistorius had himself been a victim of inaccurate reporting, when his name was linked to certain statements about a judge.
He was forced to defend himself when a charge was laid against him with the Bar Council.
He said his clients were considering instituting a defamation action against the SABC and would also consider obtaining an interdict to bar journalists from the trial.
Kruger said he was "shocked about the irresponsibility with which lies were being sent into the world".
He said it appeared as if every Tom, Dick and Harry at the SABC put their own interpretation on the reports of the SABC journalists in court.
Two of the accused yesterday again complained about their treatment at the hands of Correctional Services and the police.
Adriaan van Wyk requested not to be transported in handcuffs, as cuts on his wrists sustained during previous transportation had become infected. Vorster complained that he was not allowed contact visits with his wife and that staff at Pretoria's local prison had interrupted his prayer meeting with his wife on Sunday.
The prosecution in turn complained that the court record was being burdened with small complaints, while counsel had been appointed specifically to deal with these issues.
The trial continues. – Sapa.
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