Refugee advocate Shane Bazzi has filed an appeal against a Federal Court decision ordering him to pay Defence Minister Peter Dutton $35,000 in damages over a defamatory tweet | MWhitbourn
Refugee advocate Shane Bazzi has filed an appeal against a Federal Court decision ordering him to pay Defence Minister Peter Dutton $35,000 in damages over a defamatory tweet.
In a decision in November, Federal Court Justice Richard White rejected Mr Bazzi’s defences of honest opinion and fair comment on a matter of public interest, and said the comment was “no doubt a serious defamation”. Mr Dutton’s case resulted in a relatively small damages award, falling well short of the maximum of $432,500 that could have been awarded., Justice White declined to order Mr Bazzi to pay all of Mr Dutton’s legal costs and said the case could have been brought in a lower-level court such as the Queensland Magistrates Court, where legal costs are lower.
Mr Bazzi’s lawyers, Sydney firm O’Brien Criminal & Civil Solicitors, said in a statement on Monday that they had filed a notice of appeal in the Federal Court.“Mr Bazzi will be arguing that the judge erred in finding that Mr Bazzi’s tweet carried the meaning found by the judge, namely that Mr Dutton ‘excuses rape,’” his lawyers said.Guardian Australia
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