Mark Oppenheimer

Mark Oppenheimer has practised at the Johannesburg Bar for 15 years. He has appeared before the Supreme Court of Appeal and Constitutional Court in cases concerning freedom of expression and hate speech, several featured in Columbia University’s Global Freedom of Expression database. He led the televised Kill the Boer hate speech trial against the EFF and Julius Malema. He appears on television to discuss human rights and the rule of law. He has made submissions to Parliament on hate speech legislation and to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Mark is president of the Institute of Race Relations, a University of Cape Town Council member, and executive director of the Free Speech Union of South Africa. He hosts ‘Brain in a Vat’, a philosophy podcast with over 200 interviews, and has delivered lectures in America, the UK and South Africa.