Dissenters threatened with criminal action

Posted September 23rd, 2009 by jules85 on Sydney Indymedia

The four brave souls calling themselves the Carenne Saviours report that they have been threatened with police intervention should they continue speaking with the media or posting comments on this website.

The group claims that assistant principals Lee Churches and Michael Auld are claiming that the Police are trying to discover the identities of those commenting on Indymedia Sydney and are intending on laying charges. It is not the first time members of the group have been threatened, with one member claiming she received an email from the department's Employee Performance And Conduct (EPAC) Unit in May, claiming that her anonymity could amount to misconduct for failing to assist the department.

It would appear as though the threats - made by members of the Carenne Special School executive are simply tools used to suppress dissent. It is the advice of counsel that the police would not become involved in postings on a website unless the postings were threatening. Simply commenting on matters of public importance is no more a criminal offence than a peaceful protest.

The barrister did however advise that those aggrieved may lodge proceedings for defamation, but these would also be unlikely to succeed as long as the comments made were true and in the public interest.

The group claims that since the initial story about them was published on Indymedia, attempts have been made to identify those who dared to speak out. They claim that one staff member at the school had been suspected of being involved and has been the subject of random complaints by other staff and accused of neglecting the needs of a student in order to make life difficult for her.