Sedition advised to be scrapped
Sedition - the very law that the Police used to work over Tim’s life so that they could dredge up stuff he had done 10 years ago – has been advised by the Law Commission to be scrapped. Tim says that it is about time Parliament got around to ending Sedition in a country that values free speech.
New Zealand's Law Commission wants to abolish the crime of sedition - just a year after Australia created five new sedition offences as part of its "war on terror".
The commission says the ancient law of sedition "invades the democratic value of free speech" and should be repealed and not replaced.
New Zealand, no one was convicted of sedition for more than 50 years until July, when Auckland website editor Tim Selwyn was jailed for two months for a pamphlet urging people to "take similar action" to his own protest against the Foreshore and Seabed Act. He had smashed an axe into the window of Prime Minister Helen Clark's Mt Albert office.
Law Commission president Sir Geoffrey Palmer said he was astonished by the case because Selwyn was charged with so many other offences that the extra charge of sedition was unnecessary.
Last month police laid another sedition charge in the Rotorua District Court against a youth who is also charged with threatening to kill. Details have been suppressed but Sir Geoffrey said that, again, he could not see why police used the sedition law when other charges were available.
"They have never charged anyone for 50 years. Now they have just remembered it."
NZ Herald
posted by Bomber @ 12:25 pm
7 comments
7 Comments:
We have to remember that in 1916 "sedition" was used as the excuse to jail former NZ PM Peter Fraser. He served 12 months and went on to become arguably the most respected of all NZ PMs.
THE POLICE DREDGED UP? Do you really think it was the police that put timmy away in jail? try looking at uncle helen and see the weight that she and her cronies hold over the police bosses ie back us up, do the right thing by us or you will have a hard time getting any more staff and resources. anyone who says otherwise is naive.
God for a second I thought this article was about NZ...
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10406445
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Grin - Hmmm - see I try not to think like that Anon because then I lose trust in the system.
my god another sedition charge on a teenager in Rotorua:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10406341
Youth remanded on charges of sedition, threatening to kill
17 October 2006
A Rotorua teenager has been remanded until December for a depositions hearing on charges of sedition and threatening to kill.
The teenager appeared briefly in Rotorua District Court yesterday, The Daily Post reported.
This ad zapped by Oblongatrons.
Judge Phillip Connell remanded the teenager in custody for a pre-depositions hearing on November 23 and his name will be suppressed until that day. Depositions will be held on December 7.
The Law Commission said yesterday it wanted the charge of sedition deleted from the country's laws.
In a consultation document the commission recommended seditious offences in the Crimes Act be repealed and not replaced.
The last person charged with sedition was Timothy Selwyn, 32, who in July was jailed for two months.
He is appealing his Auckland District Court conviction and sentence.
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He was charged after sending a document calling on people to commit acts of civil disobedience, and his axe attack on Prime Minister Helen Clark's electorate office window in Auckland, in November 2004.
At the time he said it was in response to the Government's seabed and foreshore legislation, which he said was rushed through Parliament.
Selwyn was also jailed for 15 months on unrelated fraud charges, including obtaining passports, birth certificates, benefits and four IRD numbers under the names of dead people.
What the hell is up with po-po these days? think they can get away with anything? Goodness.
oh timmy...such a saint aren't ya!!!! whinger..
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It must really, really annoy you that people like and read Tim's blog doesn't it anon? You really need to dump the chip on your shoulder, your comments just come across as ugly
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