Today in the Victorian Supreme Court, Judge Geoff Eames declared Raymond Hoser, Australia's leading corruption author Guilty of undermining public confidence in Australia's legal system for publishing the truth in his corruption books.
In an oral judgement and a 78 page written judgement replete with factual and legal errors the judge has launched on an apparently unprovoked and unjustifiable character assassination of Raymond Hoser in order to justify the unjustifiable - namely a declaration that Hoser's books are in "contempt" of court, for "scandalizing" the courts.
Hoser's lawyers have advised Hoser not to give too many details at this stage, as the judge may not have yet decided what to do in terms of sentencing - the "sentencing hearing" is on next Tuesday.
So until then at least, some more free speech has been effectively gagged!
This brief report has been sent out today (November 29) due to the vast number of inquiries about the case and the physical impossibility of answering all the questions and queries.
However due to the vast number of glaring factual errors in the written judgement - confirmed from the government's own records and elsewhere, an appeal on the judge's findings is likely.
Furthermore because the judge has effectively ignored the constitutional guarantees of free speech and the public's right to know, as well as the UN treaties that Australia has signed, and other things, the matter will probably be appealed on the basis of legal argument as well.
Judge Eames effectively accepted the crown case which failed to prove anything against Hoser and went further to say that they did not have to prove a single word Hoser had written was untrue.
Thus if this decision by a court is allowed to stand unchallenged, any author or journalist who dares challenge a government's version of events and/or exposes misconduct, corruption and the like, faces serious criminal sanctions, including jail for doing so.
Any fair comment on the legal system can be accidentally or deliberately misinterpreted, misquoted or quoted out of context to frame a contempt charge to have any author jailed as has occurred here.
Even more disturbingly, the judge has made it clear in his written judgement that any person that attempts to rectify miscarriages of justice, wrongful convictions and the like, also runs a very real risk of being jailed for "contempt", even if it is patently obvious that a miscarriage or wrongful conviction has occurred.
(More on this and other points in the later more detailed assessment).
In any other country, Hoser would be labeled a "Dissident", but the Australian government is falsely trying to paint this internationally respected corruption-exposing author as a criminal.
The written decision is now available via this website server (smuggled.com) at the link below and a more detailed assessment of this document will be posted on this site at the time of sentencing, regardless of outcome.
The Victorian government has also said via a media spokesperson, that it has no concern for the welfare of Hoser's wife and two children under 3 years old who will be adversely affected by Hoser being fined, imprisoned and/or both.
Due to the gravity of these events, we ask that all media report it widely.
We note that so far the "controlled" media in Australia have in the main been actively suppressing news on the case so as to suppress public disquiet over these disturbing events.
Phone Inquiries to:
03 9812 3322 (evenings only)
or 0412 777 211 any time (urgent calls on the mobile only please)
(Note: brief stories on the case were published on 30 11 2000 in both the Age and Herald-Sun newspapers).