Junkee’s Osman Faruqi sues Mark Latham for defamation, by Dana McCauley.

Faruqi, a former Greens staffer and candidate who is Junkee’s news and political editor, is suing [Mark] Latham for defamation over comments made on his Outsiders video channel, in which he singled out Faruqi over a tweet in which he appeared to celebrate the downfall of white Australian politicians.

“The white people are getting f****d Yas, it’s happening,” the journalist said in the tweet, directed at his friend Yassmin Abdel-Magied. …

“He is celebrating anti-white racism in Australia,” Latham said in the video, a transcript of which has been filed in court.

“These people are fomenting hatred of white people. And as such, they are effectively encouraging the terrorists in this political environment, to do their worst.”

“If you are generating hatred of white people, have a good look at yourself because it is not the Australian way, we shouldn’t have racial hatred of any kind in this country. And the rise of anti-white racism is just phenomenally unacceptable.” …

“Anyone out there, on the left of politics in particular, that’s fomenting hatred of white people, the rise of anti-white racism in Australia, and also those fomenting the idea of an Islamic master race in Australia, they are aiding and abetting Islamic terrorism,” Latham said in the video. …

Maurice Blackburn Lawyers have filed a statement of claim in the Federal Court, alleging that the video defamed Faruqi by implying that he encouraged and facilitated terrorism, condoned the murder of innocent people by Islamic terrorists and knowingly assisted terrorist fanatics who want to kill people in Australia.

Don’t expect the courts to be other than PC and pro-establishment. Black letter law is not viewed favorably in these PC times.

Smacks of lawfare to shut down political opponents. So much for free speech. As always with the new left, they never meet criticism with an argument, only with attempts to silence their opponents.

hat-tip Stephen Neil