Indy Media Watch

Via Melbourne Indymedia comes details of a legal letter apparently sent to Sydney Indymedia on behalf of Kerry Stokes. Kerry Stokes is the chairman of Seven Network, one of the largest broadcasting corporations in Australia, and a recipient of the Order of Australia:

13 September 2006

NOT FOR PUBLICATION (sic)

Dear Sirs ( sic)

We act for Kerry Stokes who has been made aware of an article currently appearing on the Sydney Indymedia website http://www.sydney.indymedia.org
The article is grossly defamatory of Mr Stokes. For example, it asserts he is criminal and supplies funding to terrorists. On our instructions, the article is indefensible and Mr Stokes is entitled to expect a substantial verdict from the Court if proceedings are commenced.

You should be aware that in addition to Indymedia's liability for this defamatory article, as author of the article proceedings can also be commenced against you. Further preliminary proceedings can also be commenced against your Internet Service Provider to compel them to disclose details identifying your name and address.

We are in possession of the article posted by you on the Melbourne Indymedia website in July 2006 ( subsequently removed by Melbourne Indymedia ) making similar allegations about our client. Read together these two articles demonstrate the malice which you bear towards Mr Stokes and your clear intention to do him substantial harm by your repeated attacks. Given the circumstances we believe a court (sic) would have little difficulty awarding a substantial sum by way of aggravated damages to compensate our client.

Our client requests you take the appropriate steps for the immediate removal of the article from the Sydney Indymedia website. If you refuse to comply with this request our client will rely on this letter in any application he makes for aggravated (sic) and damages should proceedings be commenced.

In the meantime, our client reserves his rights.

It's unclear why the poster has added "sic" throughout the original letter when the comments which preceded it are not (to my observation) erroneous. Regardless, this should all prove rather interesting.

The corresponding Sydney Indymedia page which was linked appears to have been hidden.

To their credit, Sydney Indymedia appear to have consigned Faruque Ahmed permanently to the trash where he belogns (and from whence he came). Unfortunately for them, it would seem the clean-up effort has come way too late. Send in the lawyers...