Jean-Jacques Cornish

Right to die activist Davison faces murder charge

Euthenasia activist Sean Davison faces a charge of premediated murder for assisting in the death of a friend left paraplegic after a car accident.

Davison, 57, who was arrested yesterday (Wednesday) has indicated to  the Cape Town court, through his lawyer, that he intends pleading not guilty.

The State did not oppose bail of 1,170 euros for Davison who came to prominence in 2011 after assisting his mother’s death in New Zealand by giving her morphine.

He served a five-month period of house arrest in New Zealand.

Davison, who founded Dignity SA, is charged with the murder of paraplegic Dr Anrich Burger in Sea Point five years ago.

He is due back in court on November 16.

Prosecutor Megan Blow told the court new information had come to light indicating that  Davison has committed other similar offenses of assisted suicides.

Dignity SA co-founder Willem Landman said serious crimes squad detectives had searched Davison house and seized is laptop and mobile phone.

Euthenasia is illegal in South Africa.

Two years ago the state appealed a High Court ruling granting a man the right to a medically assisted death.

The Appeal Court overturned that judgment that could have opened the way to assisted suicides.

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Jean-Jacques Cornish is a journalist and broadcaster who has been involved in the media all his adult life.

Starting as a reporter on his hometown newspaper, he moved briefly to then Rhodesia before returning to South Africa to become a parliamentary correspondent with the South African Press Association. He was sent to London as Sapa’s London editor and also served as special correspondent to the United Nations. He joined the then Argus group in London as political correspondent.

Returning to South Africa after 12 years abroad, he was assistant editor on the Pretoria News for a decade before becoming editor of the Star and SA Times for five years.

Since 1999 he’s been an independent journalist writing and broadcasting – mainly about Africa – for Talk Radio 702 and 567 Cape
Talk, Radio France International, PressTV, Radio Live New Zealand, Business Day, Mail & Guardian, the BBC, Agence France Press,
Business in Africa, Leadership, India Today, the South African Institute for International Affairs and the Institute for Security Studies.

He has hosted current affairs talk shows on Talk Radio 702 and 567 Cape Talk. He appears as an African affairs pundit on SABC Africa and CNBC Africa.
He lectured in contemporary studies to journalism students at the Tshwane University of Technology and the University of Pretoria.

He speaks on African affairs to corporate and other audiences.
He has been officially invited as a journalist to more than 30 countries. He was the winner of the 2007 SADC award for radio journalism.

He’s been a member of the EISA team observing elections in Somaliland, Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Egypt and Tunsiai.

In October 2009 he headed a group of 39 African journalists to the 60th anniversary celebrations of the Peoples’ Republic of China.

In January 2010 he joined a rescue and paramedical team to earthquake struck Haiti.

He is immediate past president of the Alliance Francaise of Pretoria.

Jean-Jacques is a director of Giant Media. The company was given access to Nelson Mandela in his retirement years until 2009.
He is co-producer of the hour-long documentary Mandela at 90 that was broadcast on BBC in January 2009.