Asia-Pacific News
Australian accused of abusing war widows back in court
Feb 9, 2010, 9:32 GMT
Sydney - An Australian court Tuesday barred a Muslim accused of sending abusive letters to the families of Australian soldiers killed fighting the Taliban from doing the same to bereaved families abroad.
Man Monis, who faces seven counts of using a postal service to menace, harass or cause offence, was in court for a bail hearing.
His bail conditions were tightened to outlaw his plan to send letters to the families of British soldiers killed in Afghanistan.
At his initial court appearance last year, Monis, who calls himself Sheik Haron, described himself as a peace activist.
'This pen is my gun and these words are my bullets. This is my jihad,' he said.
Monis, 45, said the prohibition on sending letters abroad took away his freedom of speech.
'This is against human rights because if my family are the victims of a terrorist attack, I will not be able to contact them,' he told reporters outside the court.
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