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June 27, 2008Shh! Don't tell Iain or Paul, but...
Civil action can be quite pricey and sometimes dicey, but for those with no time for critics and no taste for accountability, there is an alternative... call the cops and scream 'harassment':
Slugger O'Toole - Power of arrest used against Belfast blogger: I cannot and do not wish to speak to the veracity of Murray's claims against the individuals named on his website. Free speech is rightly moderated by a civil code that gives both sides the opportunity to put their case before a court of law. There is certainly a case for the involvement of the police if a blogger, or one of their commenters implies physical threats against a specific individual. But I've been through Murray's blog and have not been able to find any evidence of such; which might explain why no charges appear to have been preferred. If Malachi is right, the use of police power of arrest appears to have been used directly against a citizen for criticising several public figures on the Internet. That's a development that should worry more than just the citizens of Belfast.
[Psst! On the subject of (ahem) strategic use of recent harassment law, do take the time to learn more about Timothy Lawson-Cruttenden.]
Posted by Manic on June 27, 2008 12:37 PM in the category The Political Weblog Movement
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Comments
Bloody hell. This link came out the blue. 15 months ago I posted re Lawson-Cruttenden.
Many thanks all the same for the link.
Posted by: CalumCarr at June 27, 2008 1:59 PM
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CC: You provided a useful reference point that I needed and Google knew about. Cheers.
Posted by: Manic at June 28, 2008 12:32 AM
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Very disturbing stuff. Being arrested is not something that can be laughed off after it's happened - it's incredibly serious and presumably distressing to be arrested for 'harrassment' because you campaigned on a blog. Poor bloke.
Posted by: Letters From A Tory at June 30, 2008 9:49 AM
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Good news on this story in this week's Observer: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/jul/06/northernireland.civilliberties
Posted by: David Boothroyd at July 6, 2008 12:35 AM
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"The 40-year-old was charged with three counts of intimidating a member of a local residents' committee, which included intimidation on the internet. The judge, however, found Murray not guilty on all counts at Belfast's Magistrates' Court."
Good for him.
Oh, and LFAT? It's serious and distressing to be harrassed with cries of 'harrassment' just because you campaigned on a blog.
Posted by: Manic at July 7, 2008 10:25 AM
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