Bizos sentenced for GBV

»» Late lawyer’s son fined R1ook, ordered to do community service.

- Faizel Patel

Alexi Bizos, son of the late human rights lawyer George Bizos, has been sentenced for assault on his ex-wife following a private prosecution brought after the National Prosecuting Authority refused to prosecute the case.

Bizos was convicted of assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm. He attacked his then-wife Monique van Oosterhout in 2015, and left her with six broken ribs. He was fined R100 000 and ordered to perform community work.

The 63-year-old Bizos appeared in the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court on Friday, where the sentence was handed down.

AfriForum private prosecution unit spokesperson Barry Bateman said the court ordered Bizos to pay a fine of R100 000 and sentenced him to 12 months' imprisonment, wholly suspended, and six months' correctional supervision, which includes 20 hours a month of community work at centres for women.

"The sentencing of Alexi Bizos has sent a strong message to perpetrators of gender-based violence that AfriForum's private prosecution unit will fight relentlessly for the victims of this scourge," he said.