Shane Bazzi, a refugee advocate, has won his appeal against Defence Minister Peter Dutton in a high-profile defamation case.
The Federal Court has rejected Peter Dutton’s defamation victory over a refugee advocate’s six-word tweet.
After calling the defense minister a “rape apologist” on Twitter, a judge ordered Shane Bazzi to pay $35,000 in damages and some of Mr. Dutton’s legal fees.
However, the Full Court of the Federal Court granted Bazzi’s appeal, overturning the December judgment and dismissing the case.
Who Is Shane Bazzi?
Shane Bazzi is a refugee advocate who has won his defamation action against Peter Dutton over a deleted six-word tweet.
Bazzi’s six-word tweet was posted late at night and received 13 retweets before being deleted.
The federal court reversed its previous finding in an appeal hearing, ruling that the tweet did not imply that Dutton condones rape.
Essentially, Bazzi’s lawyers argued that his tweet should be taken in light of the article’s context, and the court agreed.
After calling Defence Minister Peter Dutton “a rape apologist” on Twitter a judge ordered Shane Bazzi to pay $35,000 in damages and some of Mr. Dutton’s legal fees.
When combined with Bazzi’s six lines, the reader might conclude that the tweet implied Dutton was skeptical of rape claims and so an apologist.
But that is not the same as implying that he condones rape.
The court ultimately dismissed the case, indicating Bazzi is no longer liable for $35,000 in damages.
Shane Bazzi Wins Appeal Against Peter Dutton Defamation
Shane Bazzi, a refugee advocate, has won an appeal that overturned a ruling that would have compelled him to pay more than $35,000 to Defence Minister Peter Dutton over a tweet.
After Bazzi accused him of being a “rape apologist” in a deleted tweet, Dutton sued for defamation, and the Federal Court ruled in his favor last November.
Bazzi successfully appealed the ruling. The tweet did not convey the implication that Dutton excused rape, according to a panel of three Federal Court judges.
The judges concluded that “the reader would assume that Dutton was suspicious about reports of rape and thus was an apologist” based on the tweet.
The appeal should be accepted, the judgment that Bazzi pay to Dutton $35,825 should be set aside, and the case should be dismissed, the justices said.
Both sides’ lawyers were given seven days to present their arguments in terms of costs.
Find Shane Bazzi On Facebook
Shane Bazzi is active on Facebook with the username @Shane Bazzi. He hasn’t posted anything on his Facebook account.
He’s also on Twitter, where he goes by the handle @shanebazzi. He joined Twitter in September 2009 and has a verified Twitter account with 15.9k followers.
He has tweeted posts from his professional life on his Twitter account.