RLI
Member
G'day folks,
I found this article in the Sydney Morning Herald today!
Free speech appeal fails over critical letters to Diggers
A SELF-STYLED Muslim imam accused of sending offensive letters to the families of dead Diggers has had his appeal against the charge dismissed.
Man Haron Monis, also known as Sheikh Haron, and his co-appellant, Amirah Droudis, are accused of sending letters to the widows and family members of several soldiers, referring to the dead men in what one judge described as ''a denigrating and derogatory fashion''.
Their pre-trial application was for the dismissal of the charge that it was a crime to use a postal or similar service in a way that reasonable people would regard as offensive.
The men's lawyers had argued that the material was ''purely political'' in nature, and were protected as political speech.
The High Court decision, published on Wednesday morning, said the co-accused had allegedly sent letters (and in one case a recorded message) to the relatives of Australian soldiers killed in action in Afghanistan and to the mother of an Austrade official killed in Indonesia.
''The communications criticised Australia's military involvement in Afghanistan. They opened with expressions of sympathy for the grieving relatives but then proceeded to criticise and condemn the deceased person,'' the decision read.
The High Court was divided 50-50 on whether the constitution prohibits the postal service being used to deliver ''seriously offensive material''.
Under the Judiciary Act, when the High Court is equally divided, the decision that is being appealed is upheld.
The High Court was told in October the letters, which were also sent to various politicians including the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader, contained ''expressions of sympathy'' for the soldiers' families.
But they also included passages such as: ''The Australian government represents the Australian nation. The Australian nation has approved the oppressive behaviour of its own government. How? By its silence. Insane people and children are exceptions.''
The High Court Judge Dyson Heydon questioned whether passages expressing sympathy could add to the offensiveness of the letters.
''You cannot offer condolences for the loss of someone's son and speak of the dirty body of a pig or say that Hitler was not inferior to them in moral merit,'' he said.
The barrister David Bennett, who appeared for Mr Droudis, told the court in October the letters were ''purely political'' and should therefore be protected as free speech.
''It is putting an extreme view,'' Mr Bennett said. ''It is putting what is no doubt very much a minority view, but it is purely political and it requires considerable imagination to see how that can be regarded as offensive in any way. That, of course, does not matter. If it is offensive it is offensive because the views are offensive, which is exactly what the freedom is designed to protect.''
The Chief Justice, Robert French, in October suggested the letters could be offensive because of their context and the fact they were addressed to military families. But Mr Bennett said wounding a person's feelings should not invoke a criminal offence.
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Folks, i did not join the Army and serve my country with pride and honor to have this type of farken scum-bag be allowed to live in this great country of ours! The act that this sheet wearing, goat stroking fagot has committed is absolutely disgraceful, disrespectful and total un-Australian. Send the farker back to the turd-hole country of origin that this squeezer came from.
PS, and send the bill to the farken dick-brain politician and bureaucrats responsible for allowing this tow-rag scrote into our great country in the first place.
Regards,
RLI
I found this article in the Sydney Morning Herald today!
Free speech appeal fails over critical letters to Diggers
A SELF-STYLED Muslim imam accused of sending offensive letters to the families of dead Diggers has had his appeal against the charge dismissed.
Man Haron Monis, also known as Sheikh Haron, and his co-appellant, Amirah Droudis, are accused of sending letters to the widows and family members of several soldiers, referring to the dead men in what one judge described as ''a denigrating and derogatory fashion''.
Their pre-trial application was for the dismissal of the charge that it was a crime to use a postal or similar service in a way that reasonable people would regard as offensive.
The men's lawyers had argued that the material was ''purely political'' in nature, and were protected as political speech.
The High Court decision, published on Wednesday morning, said the co-accused had allegedly sent letters (and in one case a recorded message) to the relatives of Australian soldiers killed in action in Afghanistan and to the mother of an Austrade official killed in Indonesia.
''The communications criticised Australia's military involvement in Afghanistan. They opened with expressions of sympathy for the grieving relatives but then proceeded to criticise and condemn the deceased person,'' the decision read.
The High Court was divided 50-50 on whether the constitution prohibits the postal service being used to deliver ''seriously offensive material''.
Under the Judiciary Act, when the High Court is equally divided, the decision that is being appealed is upheld.
The High Court was told in October the letters, which were also sent to various politicians including the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader, contained ''expressions of sympathy'' for the soldiers' families.
But they also included passages such as: ''The Australian government represents the Australian nation. The Australian nation has approved the oppressive behaviour of its own government. How? By its silence. Insane people and children are exceptions.''
The High Court Judge Dyson Heydon questioned whether passages expressing sympathy could add to the offensiveness of the letters.
''You cannot offer condolences for the loss of someone's son and speak of the dirty body of a pig or say that Hitler was not inferior to them in moral merit,'' he said.
The barrister David Bennett, who appeared for Mr Droudis, told the court in October the letters were ''purely political'' and should therefore be protected as free speech.
''It is putting an extreme view,'' Mr Bennett said. ''It is putting what is no doubt very much a minority view, but it is purely political and it requires considerable imagination to see how that can be regarded as offensive in any way. That, of course, does not matter. If it is offensive it is offensive because the views are offensive, which is exactly what the freedom is designed to protect.''
The Chief Justice, Robert French, in October suggested the letters could be offensive because of their context and the fact they were addressed to military families. But Mr Bennett said wounding a person's feelings should not invoke a criminal offence.
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Folks, i did not join the Army and serve my country with pride and honor to have this type of farken scum-bag be allowed to live in this great country of ours! The act that this sheet wearing, goat stroking fagot has committed is absolutely disgraceful, disrespectful and total un-Australian. Send the farker back to the turd-hole country of origin that this squeezer came from.
PS, and send the bill to the farken dick-brain politician and bureaucrats responsible for allowing this tow-rag scrote into our great country in the first place.
Regards,
RLI
