Pretoria - Security officials at High Court in Pretoria removed a member of the public taking photographs in courtroom GD ahead of the resumption of Oscar Pistorius's trial on Thursday.
“Take him out of the court,” a security official said to his colleagues.
The young man who had snapped a picture using his cellphone was led out of court, looking embarrassed.
Taking pictures before the hearing starts is prohibited in the courtroom where the paralympian is on trial for shooting dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
Once the court is in session, a pool photo arrangement for media houses kicks in.
Day 25 of the trial started with a stern reprimand by Judge Thokozile Masipa on Thursday.
“Something disturbing has come to my attention,” she said, saying her message was addressed to the people in the courtroom next to hers where the proceedings were being relayed live on a screen.
Masipa said she had been told that people in that courtroom were “cheering, booing, and doing whatever they like”.
Courtroom GC was an extension of her court, she said.
“It is not an entertainment place or picnic place,” she said, adding that eating and drinking were prohibited in court.
Masipa called on security officers to do their job.
Pistorius looked calm on Thursday as he sat in front of the court, chatting to a member of his legal team.
His family, who have been at his side during all the proceedings, were again in court.
Also in court was Steenkamp's mother June, who sat speaking to ANC Women's League Gauteng spokeswoman Jacqui Mofokeng.
Mofokeng has been in regular attendance since the trial started seven weeks ago. - Sapa