Blogger fined for defying court order to withhold defendants' names

Sep 14, 2010, 5:40 GMT

Wellington - A New Zealand blogger was fined Tuesday for identifying sex offenders whose names had been suppressed by judges when they appeared in court.

Cameron Slater, of Auckland, has consistently criticised name suppression orders of defendants before the courts in his political blog, Whale Oil.

Convicted on eight counts of breaching court orders by identifying a sex assault victim, Slater was ordered to pay fines and costs totalling 7,920 New Zealand dollars (5,800 US dollars).

Auckland District Court Judge David Harvey told Slater that the internet made everyone a publisher and carried responsibility.

'One of those responsibilities is to abide by the law,' he said. 'You made value judgements about the names you were going to publish and those you were not. You set yourself up as a judge and jury, knowing those names were subject to orders but willing to flout the law notwithstanding.'

The judge rejected a defence plea that Slater should not be convicted because he identified the defendants with a series of pictograms or in binary code and not in New Zealand's official languages - English, Maori and sign language.